Kristi's journey to a healthy lifestyle

[minus86]

Hey girlie...
Sorry to hear about you and Chris fighting. You're right that it is probably just stress, but he does have to realize that even though he is the one gone that it is having a major affect on you as well.

Glad that you made up, though! And I see a little bubbly was involved so maybe some fun "loving" is in order...

The reason I didn't start counting calories is because I know I won't be able to stick to that for the rest of my life. But, it is good to be aware of what you are taking in. I have done some calorie searching just to get an idea of where I'm at. And if I'm craving any foods that I know are not good for me. Usually this just snaps me right out of wanting to make a bad choice. (With the exception of yesterday, of course...) Anyway, it's good that you took a break from the counting. You have a good idea of what you are eating now, so you are still aware of your overall nutrition.

I have a question about your food. What is tasso?

Also, I know you are in Louisiana... How will this upcoming hurricane affect you guys? Are you close to the coast?

Well, you are still doing great. I hope that tomorrow you get to say, "I have lost 20 lbs."

WOOHOO! Can't wait till in the morning to find out.

 

[Kristi]

Hey girlie...
Sorry to hear about you and Chris fighting. You're right that it is probably just stress, but he does have to realize that even though he is the one gone that it is having a major affect on you as well.

Glad that you made up, though! And I see a little bubbly was involved so maybe some fun "loving" is in order...

The reason I didn't start counting calories is because I know I won't be able to stick to that for the rest of my life. But, it is good to be aware of what you are taking in. I have done some calorie searching just to get an idea of where I'm at. And if I'm craving any foods that I know are not good for me. Usually this just snaps me right out of wanting to make a bad choice. (With the exception of yesterday, of course...) Anyway, it's good that you took a break from the counting. You have a good idea of what you are eating now, so you are still aware of your overall nutrition.

I have a question about your food. What is tasso?

Also, I know you are in Louisiana... How will this upcoming hurricane affect you guys? Are you close to the coast?

Well, you are still doing great. I hope that tomorrow you get to say, "I have lost 20 lbs."

WOOHOO! Can't wait till in the morning to find out.

Thanks You are right about him needing to notice the toll it's taking on me. He sees that now. It took about an hour, some slammed doors and cabinets, tears from us both, and me leaving the house for awhile for us to come to the conclusion that we miss each other deeply. This summer was so nice having him home a lot and now it is down to seeing each other maybe an hour a day. I think that's what bothered me so much. It was that the hour that we had today was turned sour the moment he walked in with an attitude. I just wanted to make the most of it and he was being sooo grumpy. I know that I shouldn't take it personal because he isn't normally a grumpy guy. He's very laid back and such a clown. I guess that's why it hits me so hard when he does get stressed. I'm just not used to seeing him that way. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's reallly bad. He's like a different man. Anyway, thanks for reading all of this and for the pep talks.

You're right about the calories. I don't know if I'll track them the rest of my life, but now I have a really good idea of how much something is. It was such a nice break from it today. I felt like I was seriously on vacation! I was more relaxed and got a lot more done today that I have been. It let me focus on other things rather than food. The good thing was that I was still somewhat aware and I kept my portions the same.


Tasso is smoked pork. It already comes smoked and salted in the store. Some people really enjoy eating it but for me it's just for flavoring. (I did have a small bite of it.) Some people put it in their gumbo, but I only like it in red beans. Chris is the one who really enjoys it.

The hurricane is headed directly for us at this point. Since Chris works at the news station he will have to stay there until it is out of the Gulf. If it doesn't change paths by Monday or Tuesday then I'm going to be packing up all of my photo albums and valuables and Erik and I are going to go stay at Chris' Aunt's house in northern Louisiana. I'll be riding up there with Chris' parents and his sister. It's a scary time, but all we can do is pray. We just got flood insurance in June, so at least there's that. I haven't really let myself think about it until now. This is our first home and I have a lot of my grandma's furniture and heirlooms. I don't want to come back without a home. I can't think about this right now. I hope it just disolves! Who knows, maybe it will just go away... I'm in denial.

I hope I'm 215 tomorrow too! As of tomorrow I will no longer weigh myself everyday. I like how you are weighing in once a week. I think it will help me focus more. Hopefully! Guess we'll just have to see....

 

[englangrover]

It does look interesting. I'm too emotionally drained today to get into anything like that. Chris and I got in a big fight today. I know it was because of stress and his lack of sleep since he's working full time and going to school full time. He's got so much on his plate right now but it's hard not to take his grumpiness personal. We're over it now, though. I'm glad that neither one of us hold grudges very long.

Anyway....216 lbs. this morning. I'm really hoping to see a new low tomorrow. If not then that's fine, but it would put me at 20 lbs lost! I really can't wait until I can say that!


I didn't count calories today. I've been way too low that last couple of days- between 1400s and 1700s. I took a break but didn't go overboard or anything. No exercise, but I stayed very busy organizing, cleaning, and cooking.

Breakfast: Triscuit Thin Crisps, half a banana, grapes, TALL glass of 1%milk...mmm

Lunch: Leftovers from last night: extra lean seasoned ground beef, cooked veggies-1/4 of a sweet potato, shredded carrots,zuchinni, squash, onions, peas, cheddar cheese. Multi-grain Saltine crackers. milk

Snack: milk and a scoop of chocolate powdered protein mix

Dinner: Seasoned Red beans(cajun seasoning, onion, garlic, bell pepper), sausage, and tasso. cherry tomatoes. 1 glass of wine.

Snack: Multi-grain saltine crackers. grapes. cheddar cheese cubes. 1 glass of champagne.

That's too bad about you and Chris' fight but it is also good that you are over it and don't hold grudges very long. It's unhealthy to do that.

Even though you didn't count calories it looks like you still did a good job eating well.

Way to go on going back to 216....that's awesome. I finally went down myself and hopefully it stays the same instead of going up again.

Well take care and I'll check in on you again real soon.

 

[minus86]

Thanks The hurricane is headed directly for us at this point. Since Chris works at the news station he will have to stay there until it is out of the Gulf. If it doesn't change paths by Monday or Tuesday then I'm going to be packing up all of my photo albums and valuables and Erik and I are going to go stay at Chris' Aunt's house in northern Louisiana. I'll be riding up there with Chris' parents and his sister. It's a scary time, but all we can do is pray. We just got flood insurance in June, so at least there's that. I haven't really let myself think about it until now. This is our first home and I have a lot of my grandma's furniture and heirlooms. I don't want to come back without a home. I can't think about this right now. I hope it just disolves! Who knows, maybe it will just go away... I'm in denial.

I will keep you & your family in my prayers.

 

[Kristi]

That's too bad about you and Chris' fight but it is also good that you are over it and don't hold grudges very long. It's unhealthy to do that.

Even though you didn't count calories it looks like you still did a good job eating well.

Way to go on going back to 216....that's awesome. I finally went down myself and hopefully it stays the same instead of going up again.

Well take care and I'll check in on you again real soon.

Thanks! I was 216 again today, but now I won't know what I am until Friday! I've decided to stop weighing everday starting tomorrow. I would have started today except for that it was my new weigh day Here goes nothing! Thanks for checking on me

 

[Kristi]

I will keep you & your family in my prayers.

I really appreciate that. I'd hate to come back with trees in my roof....or no neighborhood at all. These hurricanes can be so devistating. My hope is that it will die down once it hits land. Right now it's as big as the entire Gulf of Mexico... You would never know it though! It was sunny all day and not a drop of rain.

 

[Kristi]

Day 60 8-29-08

216 this morning.

Late Breakfast/Early Lunch: 2 eggs, cheddar cheese, 2 slices of double fiber wheat bread, 1 wedge of light swiss, Orange juice

Dinner: Went on a hot date with my hubby We went to Phares' Oyster Bar(our faaavorite) My meal: shared a seafood salsa appetizer. I ate a few chips, but mostly just the shrimp and crab. small salad: Mixed leafy salad, cherry tomatoes, red onions, cane vinegarette dressing. I ordered the Stacked Chicken: grilled chicken breast, stacked on top of artichokes,spinach,provalone,and a large portabella mushroom. I ordered a side of sweet potoatoes(mashed) and cooked spinach. Ice water with lemon to drink. This is my absolute favorite meal and I get it everytime we go. It's probably the healthiest meal on the menu.

(My hubby ordered the fried creamy crab cakes, salad with blue cheese, veggies and a beer...I did better than him! hehehe He's not really watching what he eats. He loses weight while he's eating. hmph.)

After dinner we went to Academy to see if they had the bike that I want...nope. I told the associate that we live 45 minutes away and have come 4 times and everytime they are out. He told us that the day they get that kind of bike they are gone an hour or two later. Even if they have like 5 or 10. So, I filled out a card that had the name of the bike and my name and number and they are going to call the day they get more. I'll have to rush over there, because the last time they were gone by the time I got there. It's a nice exercise bike and it's only 119 bucks...so I guess that's the reason. He said it'll be 3 to 4 weeks with hurricane coming. I might just go somewhere else. I reallllly want this good deal, but I also reallllllllllllllly want a bike! I might just break down and buy the one that's double the price, just so I can get one into my living room as soon as possible. I did buy a pedometer. I've always wanted to get one but never remembered.

After all of that, we went to World Market....our favorite store. It has stuff from all over the world and it's all so interesting. We bought a spice candle, incense, special flavored coffee, a bottle of applewine(we each drank a glass when we got home), some clearance kitchen stuff, spices (whole nutmeg, cinnamon sticks, star annise, and some dried lavender) we also got a bar of chai tea chocolate, and one with chai and crystalized ginger. I ate a square of each which equaled to 100 calories. wasn't too bad since it was in moderation. The whole thing was like 300 calories! I'll just space it out and have a little square when I have a chocolate emergency! They actually had a chocolate bar that was called "Emergeny Chocolate" and it had the red cross symbol on it. Cute! I could spend all day in there. I think I have. Oh and I bought this bottle of water that's from Norway. LOL! The bottle looked cool and I was thirsty! I still had a glimer of hope that the water might have tasted devine. It was water. Nothing special! haha! Oh well. We had so much fun spending time together. We really needed it.

Then we went to Old Navy. They had a 50% off sale and it was like I hit the jack-pot. NO ONE was there. I guess everyone is leaving because of the hurricane. There was like maybe one other shopper and it's usually crowded with mile long lines. We didn't even have to wait at all. Soooo, I dropped a jean size! woohoo! I had gone down to an 18 a couple of weeks ago in one style of jeans but in the rest I was still a 20. Now, I'm in an 18 in all of them. (I tried on every style) I bought 2 pair(different styles) and a ton of shirts and work-out stuff and sleepwear. I even found a pair of flowy pants that look like they would be fun when I do my belly dancing dvds. Even though it was a sale, I didn't want to buy too much, because I don't want to get comfortable. I want to keep losing and so hopefully everything will all be too big in a month or two or three. I honestly had fun trying on clothes today, which really hasn't happend in awhile.

 

[Kristi]

exercise

Oh yeah, forgot to add my exercise:

Went walking/jogging with my sis-in-law (Chris' 21 yr. old sister) in my neighborhood for 30 minutes. It was SOO hot and humid today. yuck! She really pushed me with walking fast (prob. about 3 -3.5 mph) and with jogging. She was pretending to be a coach and was like, "That pavement isn't going to coddle you, it's going to eat you alive! Remember when you fell when you were 10 and scraped up your knee?? It's payback time! Kick it to the curb!" hahahah! It was so fun. She's great.

 

[englangrover]

216 this morning.

Late Breakfast/Early Lunch: 2 eggs, cheddar cheese, 2 slices of double fiber wheat bread, 1 wedge of light swiss, Orange juice

Dinner: Went on a hot date with my hubby We went to Phares' Oyster Bar(our faaavorite) My meal: seafood salsa appetizer. I ate a few chips, but mostly just the seafood. small salad: Mixed leafy salad, cherry tomatoes, red onions, cane vinegarette dressing. I ordered the Stacked Chicken: grilled chicken breast, stacked on top of artichokes,spinach,provalone,and a large portabella mushroom. I ordered a side of sweet potoatoes(mashed) and cooked spinach. Ice water with lemon to drink. This is my absolute favorite meal and I get it everytime we go. It's probably the healthiest meal on the menu.

(My hubby ordered the fried creamy crab cakes, salad with blue cheese, veggies and a beer...I did better than him! hehehe He's not really watching what he eats. He loses weight while he's eating. hmph.)

After dinner we went to Academy to see if they had the bike that I want...nope. I told the associate that we live 45 minutes away and have come 4 times and everytime they are out. He told us that the day they get that kind of bike they are gone an hour or two later. Even if they have like 5 or 10. So, I filled out a card that had the name of the bike and my name and number and they are going to call the day they get more. I'll have to rush over there, because the last time they were gone by the time I got there. It's a nice exercise bike and it's only 119 bucks...so I guess that's the reason. He said it'll be 3 to 4 weeks with hurricane coming. I might just go somewhere else. I reallllly want this good deal, but I also reallllllllllllllly want a bike! I might just break down and buy the one that's double the price, just so I can get one into my living room as soon as possible. I did buy a pedometer. I've always wanted to get one but never remembered.

After all of that, we went to World Market....our favorite store. It has stuff from all over the world and it's all so interesting. We bought a spice candle, incense, special flavored coffee, a bottle of applewine(we each drank a glass when we got home), some clearance kitchen stuff, spices (whole nutmeg, cinnamon sticks, star annise, and some dried lavender) we also got a bar of chai tea chocolate, and one with chai and crystalized ginger. I ate a square of each which equaled to 100 calories. wasn't too bad since it was in moderation. The whole thing was like 300 calories! I'll just space it out and have a little square when I have a chocolate emergency! They actually had a chocolate bar that was called "Emergeny Chocolate" and it had the red cross symbol on it. Cute! I could spend all day in there. I think I have. Oh and I bought this bottle of water that's from Norway. LOL! The bottle looked cool and I was thirsty! I still had a glimer of hope that the water might have tasted devine. It was water. Nothing special! haha! Oh well. We had so much fun spending time together. We really needed it.

Then we went to Old Navy. They had a 50% off sale and it was like I hit the jack-pot. NO ONE was there. I guess everyone is leaving because of the hurricane. There was like maybe one other shopper and it's usually crowded with mile long lines. We didn't even have to wait at all. Soooo, I dropped a jean size! woohoo! I had gone down to an 18 a couple of weeks ago in one style of jeans but in the rest I was still a 20. Now, I'm in an 18 in all of them. (I tried on every style) I bought 2 pair(different styles) and a ton of shirts and work-out stuff and sleepwear. I even found a pair of flowy pants that look like they would be fun when I do my belly dancing dvds. Even though it was a sale, I didn't want to buy too much, because I don't want to get comfortable. I want to keep losing and so hopefully everything will all be too big in a month or two or three. I honestly had fun trying on clothes today, which really hasn't happend in awhile.

You and I have so much in common. We have a World Market here in Texas and I love it. I could also spend all day there, too bad for me I never have. I bought a bicycle at Academy and the Academy is also 45 min away from me. The weather has been rainy here for awhile so I haven't had a chance to take it out. I was also a size 20 and am now an 18 and I love belly dancing AND just started wearing my pedometer to track my steps. I just wanted to let you know that I really look forward to your progress and it's nice to have someone to go through this with. You and everyone one here has made this journey a pleasant one. Thanks. Take care.

 

[Kristi]

That's funny about all the things we have in common! Thanks for the really sweet comment. That means a lot. I couldn't do it without y'all either. I really concider y'all friends in this journey. Even though I do have support from my family and friends, none of them can really relate to what I'm going through b/c they've never been overweight. All of you are my main support and I appreciate y'all SOOO much. I love the encouragement and I love to see how everyone else is doing this. It's nice to get different perspectives from different people. Thanks again for keeping up with me! I look forward to seeing your progress too We can do this!!!

 

[englangrover]

That's funny about all the things we have in common! Thanks for the really sweet comment. That means a lot. I couldn't do it without y'all either. I really concider y'all friends in this journey. Even though I do have support from my family and friends, none of them can really relate to what I'm going through b/c they've never been overweight. All of you are my main support and I appreciate y'all SOOO much. I love the encouragement and I love to see how everyone else is doing this. It's nice to get different perspectives from different people. Thanks again for keeping up with me! I look forward to seeing your progress too We can do this!!!

You're welcome and I consider ya'll as friends in this journey as well.

We can do it.

 

[Kristi]

Hurricane Gustav

As most of you know, my husband is the video producer for the local news in Lafayette and he will actually have to be out in the hurricane filming. Yeah, I'm not too thrilled. He has to stay at the station for the entire duration of the hurricane. We are just outside of the area where they are having mandatory evacuation so I don't want to take any chances. Tomorrow morning me and my son are going to go to a relative's house in northern Louisiana. We've taped up all of our windows today and got sandbags from the city to put by our door. It didn't sink in until today that this is really happening.

When we get back I hope we have a house and a neighborhood. I'm worried about the two large Oaks in my backyard too. One is next to our neighbor's house and the other one is right next to mine. Gulp.

 

[englangrover]

As most of you know, my husband is the video producer for the local news in Lafayette and he will actually have to be out in the hurricane filming. Yeah, I'm not too thrilled. He has to stay at the station for the entire duration of the hurricane. We are just outside of the area where they are having mandatory evacuation so I don't want to take any chances. Tomorrow morning me and my son are going to go to a relative's house in northern Louisiana. We've taped up all of our windows today and got sandbags from the city to put by our door. It didn't sink in until today that this is really happening.

When we get back I hope we have a house and a neighborhood. I'm worried about the two large Oaks in my backyard too. One is next to our neighbor's house and the other one is right next to mine. Gulp.

Ya'll are in my prayers.

 

[douknowjello]

Hey Kristi, I came by to see if you'd been able to post today. I'm praying for you guys and that all is well and you can go home soon and safely to an intact house. *hugz* ~Lisa

 

[minus86]

Hey Kristi, I came by to see if you'd been able to post today. I'm praying for you guys and that all is well and you can go home soon and safely to an intact house. *hugz* ~Lisa

Ditto...

Keep safe. Can't wait to hear from you!!!

 

[Guest]

I've just spent the afternoon catching up on you!!!!!! MY have you been busy!!! You sound great though, I apologize for being MIA. My internet wasn't installed until the other day, and i tore a muscle in my back moving (I'm over it) and so I have been meaning to catch up with you for some time now!

I hope everything is going alright with your husband, my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family! Luckily the hurricane was just west of New Orleans, so I hope everything was alright.

I hope you have had a good weekend diet wise and keep up the great work!

 

[Mamaz2ndbaby]

Kristi, praying all is well!!

 

[douknowjello]

Hey Kristi, I watched the weather for New Orleans last night and checked the news today at NOLA.com...I was so happy to see that you guys escaped major damage since some people were saying this might wipe you guys off the map. I saw there was some really bad flooding though so hope your house was out of range. Just hope you get to go home soon so we can have your cheerful posts again and know you're ok *hugz* ~Lisa

 

[Kristi]

Ya'll are in my prayers.

Hey Kristi, I came by to see if you'd been able to post today. I'm praying for you guys and that all is well and you can go home soon and safely to an intact house. *hugz* ~Lisa

Ditto...

Keep safe. Can't wait to hear from you!!!

I've just spent the afternoon catching up on you!!!!!! MY have you been busy!!! You sound great though, I apologize for being MIA. My internet wasn't installed until the other day, and i tore a muscle in my back moving (I'm over it) and so I have been meaning to catch up with you for some time now!

I hope everything is going alright with your husband, my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family! Luckily the hurricane was just west of New Orleans, so I hope everything was alright.

I hope you have had a good weekend diet wise and keep up the great work!

Kristi, praying all is well!!

Hey Kristi, I watched the weather for New Orleans last night and checked the news today at NOLA.com...I was so happy to see that you guys escaped major damage since some people were saying this might wipe you guys off the map. I saw there was some really bad flooding though so hope your house was out of range. Just hope you get to go home soon so we can have your cheerful posts again and know you're ok *hugz* ~Lisa

It was so fun to come back to such sweet messages! Thanks everyone! As far as I know my house is okay. I haven't been there since Sunday morning, but my husband drove by on his way to a live shoot and said that the house looked okay. The trees are still there, so that's always a good thing! I'm not sure if we had any flooding, but from what he could see it looked like everything had drained well from our yard. We got back this morning from Cottonport, La (my mother-in-law's cousin's vacation home) and there were sooo many trees and limbs down on the way. We didn't have electricity or water last night in Cottonport and it was MISERABLE! Erik had a hard time sleeping and he cried off an on throughout the night from being so hot and sweaty. We were ALL cranky this morning. For now we are staying at my dad's house because we don't have power in our neighborhood. My dad and stepmom are in Oklahoma, so we have the house to ourselves. It's so nice to have the air conditioner and water back! It was just long enough to make me thankful and just short enough for me to keep my sanity!

New Olreans is about a 2 to 2.5 hours drive west of where I live and where I am from (I'm from Lafayette and I live in Rayne) My daddy grew up in New Olreans and I would go there every summer to stay with my Grandmother. I went back with my sisters at the beginning of the summer and it was so sad. There were hardly any people and the mall was just about empty. This was far from what I was used to while growing up. Anyway, as far as I know, New Orleans did alright. I've been kind of out of the loop since we haven't had electricity. Anyone know if the New Olreans levees held up?


As for eating healthy....it was near impossible. We ate rice dressing and brisket and bread for the first two days and then the when the power went out we lived on Oreos, caramel popcorn, and apple pie There was just no way around it! haha! One thing about all of this is that I'm not looking forward to cleaning out my nasty refrigerator that hasn't been on in who knows how long. I have to throw everything away Oh well, at least it's just that and not anything more devistating.

Well, since I'm really not going to be getting back to my "diet" until I get home I might not post my food. I know that I should so that I can keep accounatble and in the habit but how silly would it be to be posting junk like cookies and popcorn as my meals??? The weight loss police might kick me out of here! Oh well. Here goes nothing:

Breakfast: nothing (we woke up and left Cottonport...there wasn't anything but oreos left anyway)
Lunch: (I was at my mother-in-law's waiting for Chris to get there and we didn't have power so I cooked eggs and grilled cheese on the bbq pit with a cast iron skillet! It took about 45 minutes to cook!!) milk
Dinner: 1 taco at my dad's house. meat, cheese,salsa,sour cream,lettuce and a taco shell. water with lemon

Neeless to say...not such a healthy day.
No exercise. I was too warn out from not sleeping last night to do anything active. Tomorrow I plan on cleaning my dad's backyard. He has limbs and leaves everywhere. That should burn some calories!

Thanks again everyone for your concern, prayer, and encouragement!
I'll let y'all know when I get home if there is any damage.

 

[douknowjello]

YAY I'm so glad you're ok and you're house is fine And don't worry about the food, you have enough goin on and it was only a few days. I bet you can't wait to be home though and get a good nights sleep in your own comfy bed though