The past 36 hours I have had the headache from hell. Like absolutely miserable. No amount of advil is working. Ohmygoshhelp.

So, I decided to make matters worse by doing a sugar detox. Yeah. I apparently want to have a terrible headache and be a cranky person. You’ve been warned everybody! Stay away from Monica.

I’ve been professionally trying to lose weight for, oh, like ever, so it’s always on my darn mind. Lose weight. Lose weight. Lose weight. Oh a donut! Lose weight. Hey, beer time! Lose weight. That’s a glimpse of my psyche right there. Ugh. So this year, I had managed to lose about 17 pounds, and now I’m at only 9 pounds loss, which means…lose weight. Obviously whatever I am doing is just not working, and I think the culprit is carbs. Not all of them, but the refined, delicious ones. Like donuts. Which I love. A lot.

I love donuts so much that I look forward to the fateful day in August when Bath & Body Works releases their cinnamon sugared donut scented candle. Judge away. Even worse, I snag all those suckers up once they go on clearance. I’m literally hoarding one right now in my home office. Maybe I’ll light that and sniff it when I get a donut craving.

{Photo credit}

With great triumphs, comes great sacrifice. And I’m willing to sacrifice refined sugars to see if I feel better. Well, honestly how could I feel worse? For real, y’all. I was on vacay in Houston with my pal last month, and while she was shopping away at most stores, I was sitting on a bench outside the store waiting for her because none of the clothes in there fit me. None. And how pitiful is it to google, “Plus size stores in Houston Galleria?”

The answer: hardly any unless you’re over 60 or want to look like a plus size prostitute. I prefer neither of those, thankyouverymuch!

I’m tired of being the DFF. Designated fat friend. I WANT TO SHOP AT NORMAL STORES! Oh, and yeah, I’m not talking about the plus size section at the JCP at La Palmera Mall—it’s upstairs, in a dark corner, sequestered with the maternity clothes, in the ONE PART of the store that has not been renovated. Oh, oh, and…!!! The fitting rooms are not air conditioned because they want us fluffies to sweat. I know I need to, but maybe not while I’m trying on clothes I haven’t even purchased, mkay, JCP?

But I digress.

I really do think that too many carbs and sugars have led my body to store fat despite my best efforts at calorie counting. This can lead to insulin resistance and diabetes. No thank you. Maybe for the first time in my life, my desire to be healthy is trumping my desire to be thin and shop at normal stores.

Here’s my plan of action for the next week:

• No pasta, bread, sweets, refined sugars, etc.
• I can eat fruit and nuts. And veggies, of course.
• Lean proteins.
• Nothing fried!
• I’m not quitting my diet soda for fear of committing a crime out of anger/hunger, but am limiting myself to 1-2 a day.
• Alcohol in moderation (though I will try to avoid it)
• Water, water, water! With lemon. :)
• I can still use honey/splenda, sparingly.
• Non-fat, unsweetened yogurt is OK.
• I’m reading this book and this book to remind myself that science backs this up.

Nothing crazy. Or at least not to me. Some of the sugar detox plans called for like no fruit, no honey, no caffeine, no artificial sweeteners…Once you start telling me what I can’t have, I obsess over it. I think this one-week trial is enough to get my foot in the door of trying to cut out some of the things I know are just not good for me. And then I can cut some more later. You can view my daily food diary over on MyFitnessPal and feel free to friend me if you’d like.

I’ll be blogging/tweeting about my progress, so if you want to cheer me on, please do so. I really hope this helps my constant headaches, oily skin and acne issues. Plus, I am so tired, cranky, and generally just not the woman I’d like to be because of all this junk in my body. Maybe I do have a gluten issue or am insulin resistant, so this will help no matter how I look at it. Lastly, this gets me started on a semi-paleo/gluten free/low carb lifestyle that I’d like to adopt forever. If you want proof that Paleo/gluten free can be delicious, please visit Juli’s blog: PaleOMG.com. (Thanks @FlamingoToes_ for the rec!)

Tortillas, I will miss thee!

Have you tried to combat a sugar addiction? Any tips, helpful blogs, success stories, or donut recipes that aren’t made with flour/gluten/sugar would be lovely.

Hi everyone! I’m here to give you all my review of my new Fitbit Zip. Now, I will totally be upfront with you all about 2 things.

1.) I paid for this myself.

2.) I did so much research before buying this damn thing that it is SHAMEFUL.

So about #2… I was debating between a Bodybugg, Fitbit One, and the Fitbit Zip. I pretty much scratched off the Bodybugg from my list really quickly because they require a subscription fee to access all the data, and I found the armband to be rather obnoxious. I didn’t want it to be totally obvious that I was wearing a weight loss/fitness device, especially at work. Not that I am embarrassed, but I just didn’t want the extra attention or looks. No thanks!

Then I started debating between the Fitbit One and the Fitbit Zip. Now, without going into a ton of details, here are the main differences between the 2 devices:

-Price: The Fitbit Zip is about $60 and the Fitbit One is about $100.

-The Fitbit One tracks your sleeping patterns, stairs/floors climbed, and has a vibrating alarm to gently wake you up in the morning.

-Both track your steps, distance traveled, and calories burned.

At first, I was thinking of splurging on the Fitbit One, because hey for $40 I get a bit more data. Then I started thinking that I don’t really climb stairs (none at home or work), and that I don’t really think I would do much with sleep data. To me, my sleep is what it is. I try to get as much as I need, but I have a 99-cent sleep app that really gives me all the information I care to know.

So I finally decided on the Fitbit Zip. The MSRP is about $60, although Amazon has them at about the $50 range. Honestly, I am a total cheap ass because spending money STRESSES ME OUT. Like I seriously will agonize over $4 cosmetics at Walgreens. I guess it’s because I grew up that way, and I am still that way now. I call it thrifty.

Yeah. $50. Ugh. I waited.

I was at Target on my birthday, and I saw that they had the blue Fitbit Zip for $35…but they were all sold out. I checked my Target app, and sure enough both Targets we frequent were sold out. Curses.

Not one to be deterred, I checked the Target app again about a week later when we were in another city and BAM! They had 2. I snagged one up, and now I’ve had this little guy for almost 2 weeks.

Here’s what I love:

• It’s made me walk more. I used to avoid getting up at work to go do mundane tasks, and now I actively look for opportunities to get more steps in. Same thing at home. If I forgot something in another room, I am eager to get up and get it. It’s weird how a little device can make me want to work harder. It is really hard to get 10,000 steps a day on days I don’t exercise. I am lucky if I hit 5K. Hmph.
• I feel it’s accurate. I truly do. I don’t think it’s giving me extra steps or anything.
• The calories burned information is so valuable! I’ve been struggling with weight loss lately, so it’s nice to be able to look at data and develop a game plan. Looking at a week’s worth of data, I see I burn about 2100-2500 calories a day. This helped me come up with my daily calorie goal to help me lose 1 to 1.5 pounds a week. Before my Fitbit, I was relying on internet calculators to help me determine that.
• I clip it onto my bra in the morning, and I don’t think about it until I shower or change for bed. The little clip is super snug, so I am not at all worried about losing it. If you’re a guy, you can clip it to your waist band/belt.
• I can check my stats by either looking at my Fitbit screen or just checking my iPhone 4S. It uses bluetooth technology to sync with my iPhone so I can see if I need to get up and be more active, etc. HOWEVER, the Fitbit Zip can only do this with iPhone 4S and 5 (don’t know about Android phones, sorry!) because it requires some sort of fancy new bluetooth technology. It does come with a bluetooth dongle to be able to sync wirelessly using a computer. :)
• No need to remember to charge it; it uses a replaceable watch battery that has to be replaced every 6 months or so.
• No fancy subscription required.
• Totally syncs with MyFitness Pal flawlessly!

Here’s what I don’t love:

• Not waterproof! Not that I swim,  but if I accidentally leave this on a bra and throw it in the wash…bye, bye Fitbit Zip!
• Not backlit. If I want to check my stats in the dark (without my iPhone), it’s nearly impossible.

That’s pretty much it. I absolutely love this little gadget, and I think it would totally be worth the $50-$60. Will the novelty wear off? Hhmm. Maybe. I don’t know, I’m pretty determined to lose 100 pounds and have like 87 to go, so I think this will be a fun way to stay motivated and beat my previous weeks, etc. On the Fitbit website you can create a profile and add friends and such so you can get uber competitive if you want. Here’s the link to my Fitbit profile if you want to friend me.

I read some reviews that called this a fancy pedometer, and I would disagree. If you really drill down into the data and features, it’s truly a valuable health tool. You don’t even have to want to lose weight to find the data useful.

I guess the other bad thing is that now I really want the Fitbit Aria scale so I can really over analyze all the data!

If you have any questions, leave them in the comments or email me at monicawantsit@gmail.com :)

Would you want a Fitbit Zip?

I was sent a fabulous pack of Balance Bar® products to try to help me stick to my New Year’s Resolutions. The variety pack I was sent included a pair of each of the following: Peanut Butter, Chocolate Mint Cookie Crunch, Blueberry Acai and Cookie Dough & Double Chocolate Brownie Minis (<---only 100 calories each!).

I’ve seen Balance Bar® in stores, but have never tried them until I was sent this variety pack. My absolute fave is the Double Chocolate Brownie Mini—I eat half before a workout and I eat the other half right after. My 2nd favorite is the Blueberry Acai bar—it’s become my go-to 3 p.m. snack. It satisfies my sweet tooth and keeps me satiated until dinner time at 6 or so.

But my favorite thing about Balance Bar® is that the bars are all reasonable/low in calories, and have a perfect amount of fat/protein/carbs plus vitamins and minerals. And, to be honest, some of the varieties are pretty darn close to being better than a candy bar. Sweet and satisfying.

Since I am trying to calorie count/do Weight Watchers, these bars don’t break the bank like some others I’ve seen. The most they have is around 200 calories and the mini’s have 100. Perfect as snacks or a quick breakfast. They’ve made it a tad easier and convenient to stick to my New Year’s Resolution of losing mucho weight.

Also included in my goody box of bars were some tips to help “outlast” my New Year’s Resolution. In 2011 I pretty much caved in April, and in 2012 I caved on January 3. This year, I hope to beat both of those records by making 2013 my lucky year. This tip is really what I keep telling myself daily because some days it really feels like a lot of work to stay on track:

“Be Patient with Yourself - On average, it takes 21 days to create a new habit. When you first get started, it will take more time and energy to focus on your daily goal. The trick is to notice when you didn't accomplish your daily goal - and to not beat yourself up about it. After about three solid weeks of working on your daily goals, they'll become second nature and part of your daily routine.” –Amber Rosenberg, Certified Life Coach

So, I’m being patient with myself, trying to enjoy the process, and trying to focus on the fact that it’s a journey not a phase.

And to help YOU outlast your New Year’s Resolutions, I’m giving away a box of Balance Bar® products just like the one I got! YAY!

You can enter below using the Rafflecopter widget. Good luck!  

Disclaimer: I received products to review/giveaway, but was not otherwise compensated for this post.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I’ve tried it all when it comes to exercise DVD’s. From the age of 16 or so (when I started working at the Target 1-hour photo lab), I bought into the latest exercise crazes. If it had an infomercial, even better.

Winsor Pilates? Check. Hated it. Sold it on eBay.

Original Zumba on VHS? Loved it. Til VCR’s became extinct.

Carmen Electra’s Striptease Workout? Liked it. Til I got bored. Sold it on eBay.

Turbo Jam? Loved it, was too cheap, burned copies from a friend. Still love it.

Richard Simmons Sweatin to the Oldies? Adore. Still have them.

The Shred? Loved/hated/despised it. Sold it on eBay.

See? I’ve done it all. Now that I have to ahem, budget, I don’t go nuts and buy too many of those gimmicky kinds of things. I tend to only buy DVD’s that I can do and that will be fun. No need to torture myself doing something like P90X. No offense to those of you who love them and think they’re fun—it’s just not my style of workout.

Honestly, when I workout I like to pretend I am a backup dancer for Britney Spears. And I have to be DAMN NEAR PERFECT, because by golly, I am dancing behind Britney effing Spears.

I can’t be the only one. You don’t pretend you’re a pop star back-up dancer when you workout?

You should.

Image Credit: Amazon

While working out to the Jazzercise: Burlesque DVD. First of all, the workout has songs 90% of us will recognize. It has 2 Britney songs (“3” and “Slave For You”), 2 Pussycat Dolls (“Dontcha” and “Wait a Minute”) songs, a song from the movie Burlesque, a song by JLO (“On the Floor”), one by Beyonce (“Girls”)and a song that sounds like it maybe could be by Marc Anthony. Don’t hold me to that. It’s Latin-ish, not by Pitbull, so Marc Anthony is a safe bet.

As someone who has done Jazzercise before, I adore the format of their classes. They stay true to that in this workout DVD. The warm-up and stretch part lasts a good 6 minutes or so, unlike other workout regiments I do where they’re like “shake your hips, clap twice, now let’s hurt ourselves by jumping around like crazy people!”

None of that here folks. After about 6 minutes, you go into the JLO “On the Floor” routine, and it’s challenging. I’ll be 100% forthcoming in admitting if it involves jumps, I am NOT doing it. A year ago I landed in physical therapy due to Zumba classes, so I do not want to go down that road again. While they’re jumping, I march in place or shake my ass.

Also, minutes 6-20 are the absolute hardest. You will be huffing and puffing, but you’ll also be having FUN. The moves are fun, and you don’t feel dorky. The moves are a bit sexy and don’t require you to be a proficient dancer. Again, just to be real with you all, I am the type that picks up on dance workouts very quickly, but for someone who doesn’t it might take 1-2 workouts to get in the groove. As long as you’re moving, don’t sweat it.

After you finish the super hard part (minutes 6-20) you do a few more dances until about minute 30 when it switches to Beyonce. It’s a standing ab workout that I find to be effective and not torture. The next toning song is Britney “3” and it’s toning for legs. I do about 1/2 of this one—anytime there’s lunges I lightly march/jog in place. I’m not willing to hurt my knee over a $15 DVD. Toning lasts from about minute 30 until 40. Then the last song comes in and you cool down and stretch.

Super fun, not super easy. This workout is great for those who find working out to be a chore, are overweight, don’t like dancing in public, but are willing to shake what their momma gave them…in the privacy of their own home.

I hope this review helps someone who has been wanting to workout, but dreads doing a super “serious” DVD and wants something that feels like a night of clubbing with friends.

If all else fails, I swear that pretending you’re a back-up dancer for your favorite pop star is a good way to have fun and dream a little.

What workout DVD’s do you love?

Have you ever worked out on carpet at home and found it difficult? Especially when doing activities like dancing or maybe kickboxing where you have to pivot, slide or move your feet quickly?

Well. It sucks.

It especially sucks if you have bad knees, like yours truly. Working out on carpet makes an already painful situation that much more challenging and painful.

Which is why when I heard about these awesome slip-on dancers that make working out on carpet a bit easier, I was enthralled. Could such a magic item really exist? And... Could it really be about $15?

Apparently yes.

I was so smitten with the concept that I asked for a pair to review, and they said yes. Score! (And thank you!)

When I took them out of the package, I was a bit skeptical. They sort of look like a bracelet gizmo that a cheer squad would wear.

Putting them on my shoes proved to be interesting. If you put them on after you already have your shoes on, you kind of have to man handle them to get them just the way you want them. If you put them on your shoes before putting them on your feet, it's hard to get the perfect placement. Overall, I'd recommend putting them on shoes first, then put the shoes on and tweak as needed. If you put the slip-ons too far up close to the toes and try to walk you'll quickly feel as if you're about to fall on your ass.

Not that I personally experienced that or anything. Hmph.

I've used them in various workouts, and I found that they do make my exercises easier. Are they a miracle worker? Not quite, but for $15 you shouldn't expect them to be. Basically they are designed to make it a bit easier, not effortless. They help my knees "twist" less during Turbo Jam, Just Dance, Zumba and help my lateral movements during Walk Away the Pounds.

However, I do find one of them does usually shift to the point of sliding off about every other workout or 2.  Annoying, but not a deal breaker.

Personally, I only use these shoes to workout in, so I don't have to take the slip-ons on/off constantly. I think if someone wanted to slide them on/off constantly (since you don't want to wear these outside) would probably reduce the life of the slip-ons.

Overall, they've made my workouts less strenuous on my knees which in turn makes me more likely to workout on my non-workout friendly carpet. The affordable price makes them worth a try. Let me know if you all have any questions in the comments section and I'll reply. :-)

I also wanted to point out that in addition to the carpet slip-ons they also have slip-ons for smooth surfaces. Make sure you order the proper one. Happy Dancing!

Disclaimer: I received a pair of slip-ons to review, but was otherwise not compensated for this review. All opinions/photos are my own, as always.

It really is. And honestly, the past 3 years have been me yo-yoing up-and-down, and I am so up right now that I can’t even see the floor where I started from.

I think I’m doing this all wrong. I feel like I’ve tried everything. Count calories/points. Do low fat/low calorie. Cut out carbs/sugar. I just cannot seem to find something I can stick to unlike the fat that has no problem situating itself on my mid-section.

And I’ll be honest: I want to lose weight to look good. Plain and simple. But they say to be successful at something, you must want the end result more than the immediate satisfaction. Much like saving money for a vacation. It is much easier to go out to eat every night than it is to eat at home everyday and eventually go on a vacation.

It is also said that you should never give up something that you cannot go a day without thinking about. Granted, you have to follow the cliché in a logical manner. If you can’t go a day without thinking about possibly winning the lottery…you should probably get a new hobby and stop wasting money on lottery tickets.

Right?

So, for over 27 years now, I’ve wanted to be thin.

I sit here, 27 years old, at the highest weight I have ever been. I’m fatter than I was 30 pounds ago when I thought I was really fat. OMG.

Last week I was at the mall getting my wedding rings inspected for this dumb warranty thing I have. Sad to say, I didn’t even wear the wedding rings into the jewelry store. In fact, I haven’t worn my wedding rings in months. Not because I am going through some turmoil in my marriage, but because it’s that I have gained so much weight that to wear my wedding rings is impossible unless I want them to have to be cut off.

Wow.

While chatting it up with the lady at Gordon’s Jewelers, I joked that I gained the weight due to marriage and that eventually I’d be back to have them sized back down again.

And she laughed.

Hysterically.

I need to prove her wrong. I cannot go to BlogHer 2012 and be about 25 pounds fatter than I was at BlogHer 2011. I’d sooner just not go. I want to at least break even by then. I want to feel good about myself and not dread family functions due to my weight. I want to not avoid my childhood best friend because I’m so much larger than I was last time I saw her. Insanity.

But how?

I have a fabulous list of excuses, but none of them really get down to the root of why I am so unsuccessful at losing weight and maintaining it.

Oh lord. Maybe I am just lazy.

But maybe, just maybe, I’d really love to be this cute, thinner, happier lady again.

Man I had great hair back then. And no rolls. Sigh.

Oh thin Monica, how I miss thee.

This is a lifestyle blog. Clearly- I mean, look at my logo/banner image. It clearly states so.

This isn’t an “Extreme Home Lifestyle” blog or an “Extreme Weight Loss” blog… so, why, WHY do I choose to look at weight loss/healthy living in such an extreme way? Do you do that, too? I can’t be alone.

I am a rational girl (stop laughing, Daniel), and I can come to terms with balance, reality and all that jazz. Yet I have had such an all-or-nothing approach to healthy living.

Let’s reflect back on this year when I weighed every morsel of food from January 1st to mid-April. EVERY MORSEL. I exercised for 100 days straight. Even through an eye infection. Even through my drunken birthday evening. Even through all the days I was hurting (like legitimately hurting…damn knees!) and didn’t want to.

Then from mid-April until yesterday, I’ve been half-assing it. Exercising only 1-3 times a week. Semi-tracking my food intake. Sporadically drinking water and continuously chugging diet pepsi.

Those are 2 extremes, aren’t they? The super strict and the super loose.

And today I woke up and decided that although I didn’t lose the weight I wanted to for BlogHer, I do still need to lose weight in general. Like 70 pounds or so. But I’ll never do this unless I find a happy medium I can sustain. Obviously.

You’re probably thinking, “Did she really have to write a post about something that is SO obvious?” Well, yes because I think this is something revolutionary to me. I might be able to do this if I can create and follow healthy habits most (not all) of the time.

Or this could just be me being really nervous that I might die during my workout with Bob Harper on Saturday and he’ll whip my ass if I don’t do something about this excess weight.

{image credit: Life.com}

Either way, something’s gotta give. Have you had a weight loss or other life epiphany that’s so obvious, yet so hard to do? Tell me about it.

I am going to do a half-marathon.
Me.

Yes, me.

I don’t really think that is all that crazy, but you’d be surprised at the looks I get when I tell people I am training to walk/jog a half-marathon.

Maybe I shouldn’t tell them such things as I am eating a breakfast taco in front of them?

I suppose not.

But, no really, I am going to do the Rock ‘N Roll San Antonio Half-Marathon in November of THIS year. And I am truly excited and I am truly terrified. Mostly I am terrified I’ll be too slow and have to get escorted off the course and won’t get my medal.

And I would be livid if I went through all this training and then didn’t get my medal because I did NOT FINISH.

Oh my lord. Seriously. Thoughts like that cruise through my mind at least 10 times a day. Also cruising through my mind 100’s of times a day is the joy I think I’ll feel when I cross that finish line and get my medal.

A bit obsessed with the medal, eh? I am. Definitely.

I am following this half-marathon training plan meant for walkers, in addition to still attending 1-hour Zumba classes 2-3 times a week and strength training.

It is a lot of exercise, and yet I am still bulbous. For as much as I have exercised this year, I feel like my body doesn’t show it. What it does eloquently show is my love of breakfast tacos. And margaritas. And Whataburger.

While I fully feel I will eventually get better and hopefully achieve a 14-15 minute mile in time for the race, I still haven’t conquered the food demons. In late April, I had gotten down to about 26 pounds loss. Today I weighed in, and I am 21 or so lost. I am so pissed with myself because in 2 months I’ve essentially made NO progress. The year is almost half over, and I am not halfway to goal weight. I didn’t hit the 50 pounds mark by BlogHer like I wanted to. I just completely and utterly gave up and lost focus with food journaling from about late April til about a week ago. That is so much time wasted, and it almost makes me sick to my stomach to think about it. I could have made so much more progress if I hadn’t thrown in the towel.

Looking back, I don’t know why I got off track. I mean, I went to a conference, but that week I inadvertently lost 2 pounds because of food poisoning. I think I just wanted to eat all the foods I had forbade myself since January 1st. I went nuts—like food was going to all of a sudden disappear and I’d be left to starve. My other reasoning behind my diet hiatus is that I let work overwhelm me. Extremely. Then I used food to cope with it knowing food does nothing to help cure problems.

Food demons, I tell ya.

I am back on track as much as I can be, again. This time around I am not going to be super militant about it. I have increased my calories and just plan on not eating that many of my exercise calories earned. If I slip up, I am going to track it and make better choices the next time. I think it’s about time I find a balance so that this will be a lifestyle rather than a 12-month diet.

Yup.

I do have a few questions for you lovely readers, especially those of you who walk/run/exercise outdoors.

1.) I need headphones. The cheapo $3 pair I got from Wal-Mart slip out of my ears because I am sweating buckets when I do my outdoor walks. And I wear glasses. So with those 2 things in mind, what do you recommend?

2.) I need new tunes. What songs pump you up when you’re running/walking? My fave song lately is The Edge of Glory by Lady Gaga followed by Selfish by Britney Spears.

3.) Any tips to get through this half-marathon training? Any tips to get me to my goal weight without anymore unplanned hiatuses?

I’m on the edge of glory. I just know it.

Well, the title says it all, so peace out.

I kid.

As of last Saturday’s weigh-in, I’ve lost about 26 pounds. This week I am super stressed, so I am pretty sure it’ll be about 24 pounds total after Saturday’s weigh-in. Which leads me to my update.

I feel like a car who is stuck in mud: spinning wheels, lots of effort, yet no movement forward to progress out of the dirt. The awful dirt that is being a fat 26 year old girl.

And I am trying. Like honestly, I’d get an A+ for effort. I stopped doing my 100 days challenge because I really, really hurt my knee and had to take time off. I just had to. Between Zumba and Turbo Jam and strength training, my knee hurt. Going to pee was a mental pep talk because bending down sucked that much. For reals.

Thank goodness for Arctic Ease wraps. I was fortunate enough to receive 2 of them to try out, and lucky for me because both knees were hurtin’. I’ve had ankle and knee problems ever since I can remember, and I’ve tried SO many different wraps and braces and ziploc bags of ice to try to mend quickly. I won’t bother with that stuff anymore. Arctic Ease wraps offer the coldness of ice packs with the mobility I like/need to move on with my day.

I wrapped up my knees just like the picture above. It stays in place! I hate having to fidget with stuff repeatedly. I kept it on for hours while reading or doing housework, and I even wore one while installing crown moulding. And guess what? My knee is doing a lot better, which shows that rest + a good wrap helps me bounce back from a bit of a setback. No weird odor, no sticky residue. I don’t know how they make these miracle wraps, but they work, they’re affordable and THEY WORK! Can’t emphasize that enough. If you need more a spot healing kind of thing, they do also sell patches instead of wraps:

 

They’re sold at plenty of places online, but I think Amazon usually has the best price. They’re reusable, so don’t discard the nifty pouch they come in! Two thumbs up for Arctic Ease. If you have any questions, the company is fab at social media, so just tweet at them or find them on Facebook.

But, overall, I am still actively trying to lose weight. This time seems a lot harder than usual (I am a professional dieter, remember). I am exercising more, eating less and I still feel like the results I have to show for it are kind of lackluster, and plenty of people on Twitter tell me such (bummer). A blogger I follow has been using a program for about the same amount of time I’ve been counting calories and she’s lost almost 60 pounds. That is over twice as much as I have lost. Stings a bit (ok, I am green with envy…), but I told myself I absolutely wouldn’t do anything I couldn’t maintain for the long haul. Nothing crazy, nothing drastic.

And that’s what I’ll keep doing.

26 pounds down, about 70 more to go.

I just want to feel beautiful.

One of the MOST popular posts on my blog happen to be the two posts in which I basically totally diss Skinnygirl Margaritas by Bethenny.

Because they taste like crap.

And, if you peruse the comments, you’ll see most people agree with me. And on Twitter when anyone asks about Skinnygirl Margaritas, it never fails that someone tweets something like this: “Ohmygosh you have to read @MonicaBenavidez review on that crap. Seriously. She says it’s crap.”

And I smile a little. <3

Now, Bethenny isn’t alone in making stuff that is low calorie, but tastes awful when you actually make the margaritas/long islands/mojitos.

There’s Baja Bob’s. Didn’t like ANY of their stuff either because it had a funky after taste. Now granted, I tried their mixes about 5+ years ago, but I remember I didn’t like them enough to try them ever again.

And there’s also this stuff I found at Wal-Mart:

Nasty. Nasty. Nasty.

There’s also the “skinny” margarita at Chili’s that is like $7 for ONE drink. ONE y’all. ONE.

Insanity! Can’t we just have good drinks and small asses?

Yes, we can.

I was contacted by Bonita’s Mixes last month and they offered to send me some mixes to try out, and I was like, “Yes. Please. And Thank you.” And would ya believe they got delivered the day I was so frustrated with my darn cabinets? Sign from the Gods people, seriously.

And they were packaged well, which is awesome because they are in glass bottles. Which I like, because I can use them to make stuff like this:

Gorg.

But anyway, I was super excited to try them out. So excited that by the time I took pictures for this review about 20 minutes ago, I had only this much left of the margarita mix:

Enough for one drink. Yup. I never, ever EVER finished any of the Baja Bob’s or Wal-Mart light drink mixes. Honestly, I just threw out the Wal-Mart one last week to make room for milk in the fridge.

Nutrition facts:

Cute logo. I lurve sweetheart necklines.

And best of all:

ZERO GUILT. Zilch. Nada.

And it’s all natural and I love their about us page.

How do you whip up a low calorie margarita? Well, it’s easy. Fill a pretty glass with some ice…

Add 3 parts margarita mix:

To 1 part tequila:

Or 2 parts. Hey, it might be that kind of a day. Don’t judge.

Swirl around with a bendy straw.

Sip, enjoy and know you don’t have to go run on the treadmill.

By my calculations, my yummy, delicious, ohmygoshsogood margarita comes in right around 100ish calories. Probably less actually. Today I omitted the salt (sodium…which I had enough of this weekend), but you could garnish with some lime and salt to make it a fiesta.

What do I like about Bonita’s Mixes? Well, they’re affordable. At $6.99 per bottle, I can easily make about 8 drinks from that. Compare that to 8 calorie filled drinks at a bar…and yeah. You’re looking at a huge savings in money and calories. Let’s face it- both matter.

The other thing I like about Bonita’s mixes is that they taste good. Something that has alluded other low-calorie mix makers. There’s no weird after taste, it’s not overly tart nor overly sweet. It’s like they’ve found a way to strike perfect harmony.

I also love that I can serve these to friends who could care less about calories, and they wouldn’t be able to tell much of a difference. My girlfriend had a margarita I whipped up for her, and she thought it was fabulous that she didn’t have to negate the calories we burned at Zumba earlier that day.

So, how can you get your hands on these bottles from heaven? Well, they do sell online, or you can see if they’re available at a store near you. The company is pretty new, so they aren’t available in a ton of places, but you can buy directly from them. I finished my margarita bottle tonight, so I will need to be placing an order stat. And if you like them, why not like them on Facebook, too? As an entrepreneur myself, I love hearing about success stories and I have a feeling that Bonita’s Mixes are going to be something big. Quality ingredients, great customer service and a fantastic product sound like a perfect concoction for success. I wish they were available locally here in South Texas because I’d be buying the mixes on the regular. Mmm hhhm.

And hey, the mixes were in the Oscar & Grammy goodie bags. Really! Isn’t that cool?

I like to think Lady Gaga had some after being cooped up in that egg.

And hey, if she didn’t, I wonder if she wouldn’t mind sending her bottles my way?

So, there’s my review of the margarita mix. I’ll be back later this week with recipes using their sweet & sour mix and mojito mix, which are also only 5 calories. Yup, I am hooked.

Disclaimer: I was provided these products for free to try, but my slight buzz and opinions are all my own. Don’t drink & drive!

One time I read a blog post that recommended if you haven’t blogged in awhile not to blog about not blogging in awhile. Yeah. So, I’m going to ignore the big pink elephant in the room staring at me in the face telling me I haven’t blogged since March 22nd, 2011.

Yeah.

I think my issues with blogging are that I am tired and busy, and also that I talk and talk all day long about stuff on Twitter leaving me with nothing to say on here. I feel like Twitter allows me to micro-blog all day long. But honestly, I have a lot to say. Just ask my husband. Bless his heart, I have no clue how he puts up with me.

For now, I’m going to just give you all a rundown of my progress in life.

Weight loss:

I am kicking ass. Sure I haven’t lost 50 pounds or gone down 11 dress sizes or done anything ridiculously fabulous and fantastic, but I have improved my health. I’ve dropped 25.4 pounds, dropped about 11% of my body weight and exercised EVERY FAAAAAH-REAKING day of 2011. Yes, EVERY SINGLE DAY. Insane? Perhaps. Tiring? Always. Impossible? HELL NO. Not everyday is easy, lord knows that. There are some days where I am like, “Monica, just do the f-ing 30 minutes and you can have a popsicle.” Yeah, I bribe myself. But those days are few compared to the days where exercising the highlight of my day. I feel strong, empowered and fit. Me, I know, FIT. I couldn’t do what I am doing now back in January. I was weak and out of shape. And in 110 days (yes, keeping count…) I’ve improved. I’m sore, tired, and happy. I’m about 25% of the way to my goal, and I know I’ll get there eventually because I am addicted. It’s my life.

The Dining Room:

Ugh. This is where I suck. You all know my last post was about the cabinets. And maybe I feel so defeated that I have just been putting off the inevitable; I have to finish the cabinets! My personality is weird, and it appears I have better success when I tell people what I want to accomplish. Which is why I tweet incessantly about my struggles with weight loss. Hopefully someone will feel inspired, a little less alone and it keeps my chunky butt accountable. However, let’s keep me accountable to finish the dining room, mkay?

The Plan: To finish painting the cabinets.

Thursday: During lunch, make a list of materials and buy anything not already on hand in garage. Section 1 will be primed in the evening on Thursday April 21st. It will dry overnight.

Friday: In the morning, section 2 will be primed and in the afternoon section 3 will be primed and in the evening section 4 will be primed.

Saturday: Zumba in the morning, in the afternoon coat 1 of paint will be applied to section 1 and 2.

Sunday: Coat 1 of paint will be applied to section 3 and 4.

Monday: Coat 2 of paint will be applied to section 1 and 2.

Tuesday-Friday afternoon I am out-of-town in Austin.

Friday: Coat 2 of paint will be applied to section 3 and 4.

Next Saturday: Touch-ups on all paint, apply polycrylic (still debating on this because I don’t want my paint to yellow…suggestions?)

Next Sunday: Let paint cure. Lay in snuggie watching HGTV.

Next Monday:  Apply hardware & install molding above cabinets.

I think that maybe I could get it all done this weekend (I have a 4-day Easter weekend), but I always overwhelm myself and give up. This plan of mine now gives me time to do it right and take my time. Mostly because if I can’t get it right this time, I’ll give up. I don’t want to give up because I know this project has the potential to rock and make our home so much better and add value.

I can do this right? I can exercise for 4326 minutes in 100 days, but these cabinets are intimidating me? No way! I got this.

Maybe.

Now that I’ve put it out there, you all have got to encourage me and keep me accountable. Harassment is totally fair. I’m game.

And I promise to try to blog regularly. Maybe 3-4 posts a week. Luckily I have some sponsored posts coming up with some awesome stuff to review (Margaritas, knee wraps and paint! Squee.)

Also, I do have a topic on my mind that I want your opinion on:

Isn’t my little niece Ava just a total cutie pie? She was born last week, and my ovaries exploded with delight.

Baby rabies- I gots it.

{Image Credit: Live on Purpose}

I’ve hit a wall. I’ve hit it so hard that it’s just knocked me out. I’m on the floor, gazing up, out of breath, exhausted and can’t get up.

I’ve hit a wall.

I can’t get up. Or maybe it’s not so much that I can’t get up, it’s that I don’t want to. I try to be inspiring, motivating and friendly on Twitter and on this blog, but I gotta keep it real y’all. I am human. I am not perfect. I don’t have this all figured out. Today is 77 of the 100 days challenge (being active for at least 30 minutes a day- INTENTIONALLY). I’m proud to say I’ve completed 76 days. Some days have been stretching workouts or leisurely walks or sanding the hell out of some cabinets, but I have been intentionally active everyday since December 29th. Technically, it’s day 80 for me, but I’ve only been counting “officially” since January 1st.

I don’t even CARE about finishing anymore. That necklace I am working so hard for can kiss my ass. The thought of 23 more days ahead of me (plus TODAY since I haven’t worked out yet) just makes me want to crawl into the fetal position and rock back and forth. Or eat some cake. And maybe have a tequila shot.

And that’s just to finish this challenge. I still have the overall challenge of wanting to be a skinny bitch. I have a shit-ton more days then, pardon my french.

ohmygawd.

I don’t know if I can do this. Well, that’s a lie. A big, fat lie. I KNOW I can do this. I WANT to do this. I am just really burnt out. Tired. FED UP. And hey, 80 days is good, right? And I have all these people on Twitter who are like, “You can do this!” and while that’s all lovely and quite nice, I feel like screaming, “Yeah, when was the last time YOU worked out for 80 days straight and didn’t want a break?!” But really, I love it when people encourage me, so excuse my snark today, please.

I’m a lunatic. Really I am. If you saw what went down earlier at my house you’d agree with me. I became the absolute meanest person in the world to the person I love the most…my husband. It’s almost like I don’t deserve him. I was so mean. It’s partially because I am going nutso over the dining room makeover (the cabinets, oh the cabinets…more on that tomorrow) and partially because I am just so tired of counting every crumb of food I eat. Weighing every glass of wine. Fretting over every thing I so much as smell because I don’t want to gain weight back.

And yet this week, I have. I’m up almost 3 pounds as of this morning even though I haven’t eaten much this week. See? Stress can add weight even if you don’t stress eat. I am so talented that I can GAIN weight, 10500 calories worth, without even eating them.

I am a professional at being able to be fat. Like a super pro.

I say all this knowing fully that I haven’t binged eaten nor skipped any workouts. I guess I’m just saying I wish I could take a break without being judged. Not that I’d go binge eating for a week, but I know I’d get comments on how I was “so close” to finishing the 100 days and aren’t I disappointed? Maybe I would be. Maybe I’d be happy to just rest.

Or maybe, just maybe… I’ve hit a wall.

Becoming a Runner Girl

Hi guys…erm…gals! I’m Brooke from Smart + Strong = Sexy. I didn’t start out as a fitness blogger, but have slowly evolved into that over time. My blog originated as a place to document my wedding plans. A few months after I got married, I got sick of people telling me how much weight I was going to gain now that I was married, so a friend of mine and I started taking advantage of the exercise classes our work place offers.

One afternoon she stumbled upon the Couch to 5K program and worked up the genius plan in her mind. We’d start the program and run the inaugural “5K in May” being hosted by a charity in our hometown.

Two years ago, she and I struggled with week 1’s “run 60 seconds, walk 60 seconds, run 90 seconds, walk 90 seconds” Today I’m not only an avid runner, but also a triathlete and marathoner. This January I ran 26.2 miles to complete the Disney Marathon.

That’s me after pausing for a photo op 10 miles into the race – yes, I really was that happy!

I’m not here to brag on myself, but to say you can do it too!

Maybe you don’t want to run a marathon, and that’s fine. But please give running a chance. You might fall in love and join me in the less than 0.1% of the population who’ll call themselves marathoners.

Or maybe you’ll be like my running buddy who has never ran more than a 8k, but that distance provides her with all she needs to maintain a healthy weight and challenge herself to improve her speed.

Still yet you could be like our mutual friend who was inspired to start running because of us…but quit because she didn’t enjoy it. We’re still her friend even though she has bad taste in workouts.

Just kidding…but seriously.

You may hate running, but I’m urging you to please give it a try. Running does far more for me mentally than it does physically. Its empowered me to know that I can do whatever I put my mind to. I’ve shut up critics who’ve doubted my ability to jump from a 5k (3.1 miles) to a half marathon (13.1 miles) in six months.

Running helps me shift my focus from what my body looks like, to what its capable of achieving.

All you need is the Couch to 5K (or similar walk/run plan), a pair of tennies, and a place to train, and a 5K race signup sheet. I’d not recommend sinking a lot of money into shoes before you know how well you’ll stick with it.

As you continue in the sport wicking fabrics, an Ipod, an SPI belt, and some sort of long-run hydration system are handy to have. But for now, put on some sweats, lace up those shoes collecting dust, and hit the road.

You won’t regret it.

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I am so not a runner, and this post makes me consider trying it again. A smidge. I hope all my guest bloggers inspired you to make your lives a bit healthier and beautiful leading to a world with more birthdays, more laughter and more happiness. This is the final guest blogger entry, and I’d like to thank all of my guest bloggers for doing such a great job motivating, inspiring and educating us. Have you ever tried running? Would you ever try running? Let Brooke know in the comments! I’ll be picking winners for the guest blogger comments on Sunday! Leave comments on any/all of these blog posts for chances to win.

Hi everyone! This is Fit Bee/Colleen from www.thefitbee.com

When it comes to working out we can all come up with millions of excuses of why we cannot. One of the most prevalent I hear is “I have no time”. Of course in this day and age no one has extra time. But really exercise is an investment in you. There is no greater gift you can give your body than some exercise, it boosts endorphins, makes you feel great, and improves your health. Making even just 20 minutes a day for you to have some me time and get in some activity should be doable.

One great way to get exercise in a fun challenging way is workout videos. I love these because they can be done at home on your own time in your own way. If you have accesses to On Demand they have exercise TV. On exercise TV there are hundreds of free workout videos available for your viewing pleasure. This is a great way to test out some styles and find out which one you enjoy before going out to buy one. Also many videos can be previewed online before you buy them.

My advice, keep trying different videos until you find a few you like. There are tons of great videos out there and every trainer does things a little differently. This gives you an advantage of seeing different styles. I also like to rotate my favorites to keep my body guessing and working.

I enjoy the videos that combine cardio and lifting weights. For me it is the best of both worlds wrapped into 1 intense workout. I really feel they give you the most ‘bang for your buck’. The 30 Day Shred is a great workout that does just that.

Lately I have been using a kettlebell. I love the kettlebell because it is more dynamic and incorporates strength training with cardio. The kettlebell really works your core building it to be stronger. Jillian Michaels came out with Shred It With Weights and I fell in love with this workout.

If you have a child at home, then a home workout can help you greatly you can exercise while they nap, play in another room, or early in the am or after they have gone to bed at night. Workout DVDs give you the freedom to do this. If you work odd hours, cannot afford a gym membership, really if you just prefer to be home then try a workout DVD today!

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Thanks Colleen! Colleen is a huge source of inspiration for me. She’s lost a lot of weight, seriously, check out her AMAZING weight loss on her website. Her journey has made me realize that I can do it, too. And it should make YOU realize you can do anything you set your heart to. How do you find time to exercise or be healthy? Leave a comment for an entry to win some earrings! Now I’m off to exercise before the Lady Gaga concert…gotta make time for it!

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens...oh wait, wrong post. Oops!

Hi, my name is Bari and I normally post over at livelaughrunbreathe. I'm a 40 year old mom to teenaged twins (a girl & a boy), and I work full time as a Speech-Language Pathologist for a public school system. In the past 10 or 11 years; I’ve lost 50 pounds, gained 30 of it back, and then spent the past year re-losing said 30 pounds by taking up running. What, you may ask, am I doing over at Monica Wants It? Well, Monica put a call out on twitter a while back looking for guest bloggers. I asked what her readers could possibly want from me. She thought since I love my iPhone so much and often tweet from apps I've used for running or weight loss, I might have a nugget or two of wisdom to share. Plus, you Verizon folks will get to enjoy the awesomeness that is iPhone too! So here I am.

Now before I get started on my favorite things, I should state that the opinions here are strictly my own. I have purchased my phone and downloaded these apps with my own cash and haven't been compensated by Apple or AT&T in any way (but how cool would that be?). Also, I'm not a doctor nor do I play one on TV. Before you get started on a weight loss or fitness program, you should consult someone who really knows what they're talking about. Now, without further ado, a few of my favorite things!

• My iPhone! I have a 3GS because I couldn’t be patient enough to wait 6 months for the iphone4 to come out. Now I hear the 3GS is super cheap – like under 50 bucks! My only complaint is the battery life drains REALLYFAST if you are running multiple apps. It lasted for my 1/2 marathon, but just barely. From what I’ve read, the iPhone4’s battery may be a bit better. Now, if you don’t have the iPhone, either stop reading, because the rest of this post will just seem silly, or go out and get yourself one. I’ll wait…

OK, are you still with me? Sweet! Let’s continue…

• Extra battery case. Because these apps tend to drain the battery quite rapidly, I have an extra battery case like this one. It works very well without adding a lot of weight or bulk to your phone. I actually bought this before a vacation to Disney World and my phone managed to survive tweeting, face booking, picture taking, etc, etc all day in the park.

• Electric Miles: This is the app for the DailyMile website. If you are not already on DailyMile, I strongly suggest you sign up. It is essentially a social networking site for posting your fitness activities. You get lots of friends encouraging you by commenting on your workouts or calling you out if you haven’t posted in awhile. The app, Electric Miles, allows you to post and comment from your phone, without having to go out to the site. It’s super easy to use and if you have your Daily Mile account set to auto post to twitter and Facebook, the app will do that as well.

• iMapMyRun: As the app states, “Everything you need from couch potato to marathoner.” I have the “free” version of the app, and other than the occasional ad, it is does everything I want it to do. The app lets you use your phone’s GPS to track distance, time, pace, splits (I’ve never figured out how to access this-maybe it’s in the paid version), map routes as you run them and gives you voice feedback along the way. The app works whether you are running, walking, biking, hiking, whatever. When you log a workout, it has selections for the gym, sports, etc. but I have never used these features. I’ve only used it for running, biking, and walking. From what I can tell, the GPS is quite accurate, but like any GPS device, weather conditions will affect the accuracy of the mapping. One nice benefit to this app is the ability to edit the workout after it’s been recorded. I frequently use this feature to adjust the time (since the 30 seconds putting the phone in and out of my pocket and waiting for traffic will change my pace so much - LOL). I’ve also used it to fix the distance if clouds or snow have goofed up the GPS. You can multitask with other apps, take pictures, tweet, etc and the app keeps recording. When you are done (or even during your workout if you’ve selected that feature) you can tweet or Facebook your workout. You can also access your account online.

• RunKeeper Pro: I will admit I am much less familiar with this app as I just downloaded it in January because it was free (normally it is $9.99). I’ve only used it once on a very snowy, cloudy 2 mile run. The GPS was off .2 at the 1 mile mark but by the time I got home, was only off by .05. Pretty good considering the weather. I liked that I could start my iPod from RunKeeper and I did stop and take a photo while the app was running without the app stopping. I was also able to view the mile splits after the workout was completed. I don’t know if you can use other apps while it’s running, but I really haven’t played with it that much. Like MapMyRun, you can send your workouts to Twitter or Facebook and you have an online account that tracks your progress.

• Livestrong/daily plate: This awesome little app allows you to track your daily calories, figure out how many calories you burn with various activities, track your weight and more, all for $2.99! There are over 620,000 foods listed, including many common brands, plus countless fitness activities. Online, there is a support community plus the ability to generate your own recipes (and calculate their nutrition info). When I was actively working to lose weight, I used this app religiously.

• C210k and C25k: For anyone interested in starting a running or run/walk program, I highly recommend the couch to 5k and couch to 10k programs. There are several apps for both running programs. Some have their own music in the background, others allow you to use your own playlists or receive the audio cues without music. Some also have social network settings as well.

So, there you go! Everything (not really, who am I kidding?) you need to know to get started using that iPhone and Get Moving! Hopefully you learned of a new app or are interested in learning even more. Thank you to Monica for giving me the opportunity to share!

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Thank you Bari! You should definitely check out Bari’s blog over at http://www.livelaughrunbreathe.com/ Bari is such a wonderful twipal (twitter + pal) and she is a running maven. She inspires me to be great, and I thank her again for taking the time to compile THIS awesome list of apps. Now, I know you’re probably anxious to go download them all, but before you do that leave a comment for a chance to win some cute floral earrings to wear as you workout!

When people write about body image, weight, self-esteem I think back to my days of blogging and starting the Exposed Movement: http://exposedmovement.wordpress.com/

You see for the past 10+ years I have been on a mission to lose weight. I have successfully kept off around 90lbs.

I was lower at one point in my life, by about 40lbs, and I was spiritually freaking miserable.

How does being skinny = miserable?

Well, it’s all how you approach your weight loss and how much you respect your body. After getting to my lowest, I started to full.on.binge. Jars of almond butter, pans of brownies, puking in the shower. I was miserable. The weight crept on. Over 2 years I gained 40lbs.

During this time I started to think about my body. I started going to counseling to find my center of control, to find the spring in the step that I had lost…I went to find my spirit.

In our quest to become ‘thin’  in life and to HATE the way we look we hold our spirits in bondage. We sit, wallow, starve, over-exercise, and punish away the one thing that many of us are chasing..LIFE. LIVING!

I can’t say that there was an epiphany of sorts in my life. It wasn’t an over-night change, it was the slow progression of making peace with food. Making peace with the weight I was at and realising that I am more than a calorie, point, or pant size.

Three things which have helped in over-coming my issues with food, balance, and my weight:

1. Admitting where I was, what was causing me to numb my pain
2. Seeking help: Counseling, “Women Food and God”, “A Million Miles In A Thousand Years” and my faith
3. Focusing on today..and ONLY today. Give each the best that you can give it.

The past two years have been exhausting and the most life-giving thing that I’ve done. I never refused to give up.

“The reward you get from a story is always less than you thought it would be, and the work is harder than you imagined. The point of a story is never about the ending, remember. It's about your character getting molded in the hard work of the middle" ~ Donald Miller "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years"

~Michelle @ http://exposedmovement.wordpress.com/

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Thanks so much to Michelle for her inspiring words about loving ourselves no matter what size/shape we are. How we look doesn’t have to define us, and though we obsess about it, it’s not all of who we are. Remember to leave a comment to be entered for a pair of earrings to help you feel a little more lovely.

I’m 4 weeks into this “healthy lifestyle” change (which often you’ll hear me call the “d” word), and I keep getting some of the same questions asked via Twitter (@MonicaBenavidez) and e-mail. I thought it’d be cool to compile them into one post so you can have a quick and easy place to find answers to common questions. If you’re looking for my tips of calorie counting part 1 or part 2 <--- click here.

1.) What program are you following? Weight Watchers still? How do you know how many calories to eat?

-No, I am now just doing simple calorie counting + exercise. To track/log all my food and exercise, I am exclusively using My Fitness Pal. It’s free, it’s easy, it’s fab. I use it on any computer, and I also use the iPhone app. I try to eat healthy and stay within my calorie target, but other than that I don’t restrict carbs, protein, etc. I do try to limit my sodium and drink at least 80 oz. of water per day. I still eat ice cream, drink wine and have peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. In moderation. In regards to how many calories to eat, I used My Fitness Pal’s calorie target of 1200 for the first 4 weeks.  This week, I am going to try eating 1420 calories (www.loseit.com recommendation) to see if that helps shake things up a bit (you’ll read why later). This blog post does a great job explaining how to come up with a calorie target.

2.) Do you have a splurge day?

-Not really, well sorta. Every other Saturday I do a “whatever-I-want-for-lunch” kinda thing to keep my sanity. I do still log the calories for it, and often times I find I do it in smaller portions than usual just because it’s a habit now. I don’t binge or anything, and I haven’t at all the last 29 days- impressive. I don’t know if I will never, ever binge, but I am sincerely trying not to. Food is not a way to deal with emotions.

3.) So what’s this I hear that you exercise EVERY SINGLE DAY? Are you nuts?

-Yes. Yes, I am nuts. You see, I used to despise exercise. Not saying I love it now, but if I don’t do it, I feel guilty. Also, I know myself well enough that if I skip 1 or 2 days, it will take me a fortnight times ten to get back into the groove. That’s when I heard about the 100 days challenge, and I decided this is the perfect challenge to help me get into a groove of exercising regularly/daily. Bottom line- everyday I intentionally move for 30 minutes. I don’t count things like shopping, cleaning, cooking and the like. I ONLY count exercise. It’s not always strenuous, but it does help me become more fit.

4.) Do you count things like shopping, cleaning, cooking as exercises on My Fitness Pal?

-No. I personally don’t think any of those are substitutes for intentional exercise. Unless you go power walk at the mall, I think those activities can be a bonus calorie burn for your day, but I do not count them ever.

5.) Do you eat the calories burned from exercise?

-Yes. I try to make sure my net calories is around my calorie target for the day. If I only ate 1400 calories, but I burned 400, then my net would be 1000 calories. Too few calories can send your body into starvation mode, trust me, I know this. You will GAIN weight. Like I did this week. Curses! So, if my target is 1400, I burned 400, I will usually eat between 1700-1750 calories for a net of 1300-1350. I leave a few uneaten as buffer for miscalculations during the day.

6.) How do you KNOW how many calories you burned from exercise?

-I used to use the count My Fitness Pal gave me and knock off about 10%. Now I have a Polar FT7 ($85 on Amazon) and it tells me how many calories I burned. I use their number and it’s actually pretty close to the one My Fitness Pal gives me, just slightly less. Not by much though.

7.) What do you do for exercise?

-Turbo Jam, Just Dance 2 and Walk Away the Pounds= Cardio. I use Jackie Warner’s DVD for strength training. I probably do Turbo Jam about 5 times a week, and I sprinkle Just Dance 2 and WATP in there on my days off from Turbo Jam. Turbo Jam is a kickboxing type workout, and I adore it. I’m not a Beachbody Coach (they are rampant on Twitter…some are quite nice, some are quite pushy), so I am just saying this as an overweight girl who is seeing great results from Turbo Jam. You can do it low or high impact, so it truly can be done by anyone regardless of fitness level. WATP is an indoor walking workout that really helps get and keep you at the fat burning zone, and your legs will get toned. Just Dance 2 is so much fun to dance to, and I can do it for an hour and it feels like 10 minutes. I always break a sweat with that game. Bottom line- I do 30 minutes, minimum, daily of SOMETHING.

8.) Just Dance 2- seriously?

-I get this a lot. People don’t *think* it’s a true workout. Sure, if you’re like my little brother-in-law who just waves the Wiimote around without actually, well, DANCING…then yes, not a true workout. However, I do all the moves, and in between songs I walk/jog in place to keep my heart rate up. I sweat. I shake my ass. My arms are sore from it at times (that Bollywood one- HOLY COW). The Tina Turner song- WORK IT GIRL! Lots of good songs to get the body pumping. If it helps, you can do what I do. I pretend I am a popstar (perhaps Britney Spears) and that I am performing at the VMAs. And I gotta be perfect and give it my all! Lame, I know. But try it. It works. See? There I am at the VMAs with Britney- my Wiimote is in my clutch that is under my seat.

9.) Did you really go to the VMAs and meet Britney Spears?

Yes, in my dreams. See picture above.

10.) Is everyday easy for you? You seem so positive and upbeat on Twitter.

-Um, you didn’t log onto Twitter the 5 or so days in the past month that I was having a total meltdown did you? Or the day I was so hungry I wanted to eat a pencil? I try my best to be positive daily. Positivity motivates others, and on Twitter, lots of my tweeps are in the same boat I am in. No need to act like it’s sinking. There’s no use in looking at this whole healthy eating/exercise thing with as gloom and doom. It won’t help. However, there are days when gloom and doom is what you feel. That is ok. That is normal. Those are the days, in my opinion, when it is most important to keep at it. Do not binge, do not skip your workout. Remember your goals, realize that the scale is a frenemy and drink some water. Vent to someone. Cry. Scream. Do not eat massive amounts of donuts. As with anything in life, there are ups and downs. Don’t let the downs ruin you. Feel it and move on.

11.) Does it get easier?

-Yes and no. Healthy habits become more natural, so in essence it gets easier to just make healthy decisions. I used to eat 100 calorie packs a lot, now my snacks are mostly fruit, yogurt, cheese or nuts. I used to drink lots of diet soda and very little water. Now I drink lots of water and 1-2 servings of diet soda. I used to want fast food burgers and fries, now we make lean burgers and baked fries at home. I used to make excuses to not exercise, and now I refuse to miss my 30 minutes of exercise. On the flipside… It’s hard when you don’t see results on the scale and you feel sad. It’s hard when you’re the oddball eating salads and everyone else has pizza. The more you stick with it (exercise & healthy eating) the easier it will be because you simply know it’s what has to be done. Bottom line.

12.) How do you handle a gain?

-Short answer: Not well, hee hee. Long answer: Be honest, be accountable, be reflective. I gained this past week. I looked at my sodium- normal. I looked at my exercise- I bumped it up (possible culprit- muscle water retention? Maybe) I looked at my calories- lower than usual (helloooo starvation mode!). And then I knew it was likely the fact that I exercised too much and ate too little. This week, I am going to keep the intensity of my workouts, but add in an extra 220 calories. Also, I need to make sure I drink all my water- might increase that too. I also am NOT going to peek at the scale because it’ll be a gloom and doom day, which is detrimental to my morale. Weigh once a week, don’t worry about it any other time. Gaining weight in a week where I know I worked really hard is devastating, no doubt, but use it as a tool to reevaluate and shake things up. Our bodies adapt to routine. Also, make sure to take your starting measurements and measure again once a month to see your inches lost. I was up 1.2 this week on the scale, but it was time to take measurements again and I’ve lost 19.75 inches! YES!

Well, those are the things I get asked commonly, so I hope my little compilation helps someone out. I am always here for you all (all of you!) so please if you need further help or clarification, contact me at monicawantsit@gmail.com or tweet me @monicabenavidez

Good luck! YOU CAN DO THIS.

Click on over here to read part 1 of this 2-part blog post on my top 10 tips to be successful at calorie counting.

6.) Reward yourself. Let’s face it- weight loss and trying to live a healthy lifestyle when you haven’t before can be challenging. It’s not impossible, but it does require mental, emotional and physical work to get the results you want in all those areas. Being mentally, emotionally and physically fit is HARDWORK. Exhausting. Trying. You have great days when you convince yourself this is easy and natural. You have hard days when you just want to dunk everything into ranch and eat copious amounts of chocolate. I feel ya. I do. It’s all that madness and hardwork that should be celebrated and rewarded when you reach milestones in your journey. They don’t have to be big or extravagant (but they can be!), but they should be meaningful and motivating. And in my opinion, they should NOT revolve around using food as a reward. I have my little virtual weight loss bank which I use to earn faux-money to buy the things I want when I reach certain goals. I just bought myself some cute earrings and an adorable headband as a reward for doing 2 straight weeks of calorie counting and exercise without ever going over calories or skipping out on my workout.

Fabulously gawdy and tacky. Perfection.

Here’s a list of more of my planned rewards:

15 pounds loss: A new book! I want this one so I can learn more about how to take great photos like Emily does.

20 pounds loss: A new pair of workout pants from Wal-Mart.

25 pounds loss: A new necklace from the same place I bought my headband/earrings from in town.

30 pounds loss: An iPhone 4!! YAY!!

40 pounds loss: Turbo Fire workout DVDs

Completing 100 days challenge: A new Polar heartrate monitor.

I want to lose a total of about 90 pounds, so I’ll set more goals once I reach the ones above. I used to attach goal dates to my goals, but now I don’t anymore so as not to stress myself out.

7.) Write down and visualize your goals. This tip is helpful for allowing you to clearly articulate what you want to accomplish. It’s also a list or reminder when you’re feeling like you want to give up/quit/binge eat of why you want to do this in the first place. I know some people find it hard to tell others, “Hey I want to lose 100 pounds” or whatever, but it’s important to tell yourself if no one else. Write down your goal weight or your goal dress size. Hey, it could even be your target cholesterol reading or your blood pressure numbers- it doesn’t have to be about a certain weight or size. Take 5 minutes today to try and sum up your goals on a post-it note and keep it in your wallet. Refer to it when you’re willpower is waning. And for me, it’s also helpful to visualize my goals. What would I want to be able to wear? How awesome would I look? How would I feel? I am obsessed with cute dresses, so I keep looking at ModCloth’s website for dresses that I picture myself looking gorgeous and healthy in. Here’s one of my faves:

 

And another:

8.) You must exercise. Lots and lots of people I am sure have lost weight without exercising. I just happen to think that trying to live a healthy and active lifestyle will help your weight loss and your fitness levels. I am doing the 100 days challenge, and this forces me to make it a point to incorporate at least 30 minutes of activity every single day for 100 consecutive days. So far, I have completed 16/16 days, and I feel great. I’m not going to lie and say everyday I look forward to exercising, but I can say it’s not that hard to find 30 minutes of time in my day to move my body. Sometimes I do Turbo Jam and other days I play Just Dance 2 for 45 minutes. Point is, MOVE YOUR BODY if you want a BETTER BODY. Just 30 minutes everyday will do the trick. Break it up into 10 minute segments if you have to, but please, please, please do some form of exercise. Walk, do yoga, dance around your living room…whatever you fancy. Just do it. No excuses.

9.) You must drink water. A no brainer for most “dieters”, but some people are still resistant or can’t find it in themselves to drink the recommended 8 glasses of water a day. I strive for at least 8, but usually end up at 6 or 7. I try to drink a bottle of water at every meal and with every snack. It keeps me feeling full, hydrated and makes my skin a lot nicer. It also helps keep things moving if you get my drift. Water is affordable and it’s an easy way to do something positive for your body. I know many people count tea or coffee as water, but I only count non-caffeinated/carbonated beverages, and even then I do try to get in 8 servings of pure H2O. I do love Crystal Light though, and as long as you don’t put those in every serving of water, I think you’ll be fine. Go grab a bottle as soon as your done reading this post.

10.) Be honest with yourself and don’t stress. Despite our best efforts and intentions, we will mess up. We’ll forget to count that extra dab of peanut butter or that bite of a candy bar. We’ll gain a pound or 2. We’ll slack off on exercising. Those are all fine. Those are NOT the end of the world. One day of “messing up” will not negate your hardwork. You didn’t have one day of eating poorly that led you to gain weight- you had lots over a period of time. Same goes with losing weight. You will have lots of healthy days that lead you to lose weight- not just one day. If you get an extra slice of pizza, just be honest with yourself, track it and move on. Drink some water. Take a walk. Look over your goals. Tweet one of your weight loss pals. Reward yourself by reading a good book or a good blog online. Plan for a better day. No guilt, no stress. Stress will lead to weight gain, so it’s important to try your best and accept that this is a journey that will have detours and accidents and bad gas station food. Isn’t it the end of the journey that’s going to be the sweetest anyway? I think so.

I hope my 10 tips for calorie counting/counting points is helpful to you and reminds you that you CAN DO THIS. One day, one step, one meal at a time, you can make healthy changes that will lead to results. At times you’ll take a few step backwards to take a few steps forward, but that’s the tango of life. Turn it up, move your body and track it all down somewhere like a cheesy high school yearbook you can look on later.

If you take away nothing else from this post, please just know I am here for you. I believe in you. Now, do you believe in yourself?

I hope you do.

Smooches!