My Life. Medication Optional.

So, as reported previously, I lost 40 lbs last year. This Aug is the anniversary of the loss. However, it seems I've gained about 5lbs in the past month or two. I'm not real stoked about that. In fact, I'm pretty pissed. While I don't want to be obsessed with my diet and my weight, now I know when things ar ehappening becauseof poor choices I am making.

I've been eating crap food. Last week I ate two doughnuts. That may not seem like a big deal, but if you consider that the last doughnut I had before that was over six months ago, it proves the point.

So I'm not going to get all obsessive and calorie-counting, but i figured if I wrote down what I ate on here once in a while, it might keep me on track.  So here goes!

Breakfast: 1 slice toast w/ natural peanut butter, 1/2 cup of yogurt with 1.5 cups Special K with Red Berries.

Snack- one chocolate chip cookie. 1 piece chocolate. 1 cup Oregon Chai.

Lunch- 1 cup yogurt w/ 1/5 cups Special K w Red Berries

Snack 2- 1 cup Chai, 1 whole wheat english muffin with butter, 1 cup greek yogurt, 5 raspberries.

Dinner- 1 tomato basil wrap filled with feta cheese, hummus, cucumber, bib lettuce, chickpeas. (Freaking DELICIOUS.)

Snack 3- 1 Budweiser Select 55 (55 cals, baby!), 5 cups air-popped corn (super filling, low cal).

I went on a power shop today and bought produce and as many whole foods as I could. I am not 100% eating clean, but I try to get as close as I can.

Any awesome whole foods recipes to share?

he first two photos are me at 175lbs. I last weighed that much in Jan. 2009. The last is me November 2009,  running my first 5k at 135 lbs.

Last year at this time I weighed 174 lbs according to SparkPeople.com and the gym scale.  As of yesterday I weigh 134 lbs.  (That's 40 pounds lost, FYI.) 

It's is definitely awesome, as I've gone from a size 14 to an 8 (almost a 6).  I feel better, more confident, and if I go into a store and try on a pair of pants, the always go on.  That's a new feeling for me. 

A lot of people comment on it, which is nice.  It's also really uncomfortable for me.  The problem is that they always seem to want to know what my secret is.  The ask how I did it and then they look disappointed when I tell them.

Because I watched what I ate and I go to the gym six days a week.  It's not a magic cure, it won't even work for everyone.  It just happened to work for me. 

The part that people seem to like to hear least is when I tell them about the gym.  I don't believe in going to the gym to walk on a treadmill for half an hour.  I think that people ignore the potential for what their body can do.  I think people make excuses to not be fit or at least to not have to work very hard.  It's not even about losing weight, it's about challenging your body to change itself.  Muscle tone and endurance don't change without sweat and exhaustion. 

I may make it sound like it's all easy and anyone can do it, but I don't mean that.  I just think that people who talk about wanting to make a change need to challenge themselves.  I have lots of days that I don't want to workout.  And I do it anyway.  It makes me stronger physically, but also I think the discipline of going to the gym and training my body has been really good for my self-esteem and my goal setting in other areas of my life.

So, readers (ha), do you workout?  Do you have weight loss or fitness goals?