Some days, pork rinds just aren't enough....

Alright! I'm starting off Week 3 at 234 lbs (8 lbs lighter than 2 weeks ago!) ready to go in my new apartment inside my new apartment complex with my newly-found motivation to GET THINGS DONE! I'm not sure if it's because my paper is done or because I have completely cleansed and relocated my living space, but I'm in a busy mood, which is great incentive to keep active all afternoon instead of flopping out on the couch when I get home from work and staying there until I roll myself out just to flop back down into bed.

Casualties of the Fat-Life

Another incentive to get moving is noticing, as well as hearing from my parents and boyfriend, how much weight my DOG has gained. Abby Gustafson has unfortunately been a casualty of my weight gain and sedentary life-style. Normally, the routine has been to take her out in the mornings before I leave, and then again right when I get home, and normally one more time before we go to bed. And when we go, it's only for her to poop and pee. I didn't have much time, and I had work to get done all sprawled out on my couch. Abby (a.k.a. Tater) somewhat conformed to this lifestyle and snuggled with me while I worked on stuff and occasionally dropped a tennis ball on my keyboard for me to throw around a little. A couple of times I tried to throw her tennis ball with her outside, but she only grabbed it and ran to the door to go back inside so she could get a treat (story of my life). Well, at this new apartment complex, there are lots more dogs, so when I take Abby out, I will definitely have to have her on a leash, and since I'll have her on a leash, she'll have to stay outside with me. No more running to the door. So I think we'll get a good walk everyday around the new (and very safe) complex. Tater needs to be able to fit into those cute sweaters I bought her last year!

What's Been Going On

As I said before, I've been moving into my new apartment since Tuesday of last week. However, Wednesday and Thursday I did nothing because I was diagnosed with bronchitis, a sinus infection, and an ear infection. I felt like a raccoon (don't they carry a bunch of diseases? or did my mom just lie to keep me from petting them...). Anyways, that slowed my progress somewhat, so this weekend Scott and I got it done big time. By Monday everything from the old apartment was moved over into the new one and now I just have to clean the old apartment up for inspection. Just about everything is in its new home at the new apartment. I have my skinny clothes on standby on the top shelf of my new closet. I've also thrown away tons of stuff (soooo relieving!!) and set some other things aside for a yard sale next weekend. Love love LOVE this organization. I love plugging in a documentary on netflix to listen to while I dig and separate out bins full of junk. It's just HEAVEN!

However, it's all very hard work, too, and my body wants to revert back to rewarding itself with food. So I've had some serious cravings this past week and weekend. The worst was on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon when eating out. Saturday I wanted a beer more than life itself. I settled for a whisky sour and a coconut rum on ice (whisky sour was only 5 carbs and rum has NO carbs...but your body will burn off the alcohol before it gets back to burning fat, so it slows you down just a little). Sunday, Scott and I met up with my parents for lunch at a BBQ place where they had fried EVERYTHING and the most heavenly looking creme pies I've ever seen in my life. I did eat a couple of fried green beans without the breading on it. I really wanted to try the jalapeno dipping sauce....it was delicious by the way.

But this next week will be fine. I've reloaded on my Atkins snacks to sustain me through certain cravings. I used to wonder how the Atkins people could be making money with all their information available for free on their website, and then I realized the snag you with their brands of chocolate and milk. They're the only ones who can make chocolate peanut butter cups taste just like the real thing. However, I should warn y'all, everything else tastes like cardboard, except the peanut butter and chocolate granola bar they have. That one is good, but everything else is incredibly deceiving. The milkshakes aren't bad, but well, I love milk and I know it's not milk, so it's not as fun, but it works for now!

Since we're talking about food, let's just line up some meals from this past week:

DIET

Breakfast - My blender has been packed up all week, so I haven't been up on the protein shakes like I'd like to be. Instead I've been eating those Atkins chocolate covered peanut butter bars with an Atkins milkshake or a handful of pork skins, or a few days I microwaved some bacon.

Lunch - Leftover rotisserie chicken, publix chicken salad with pork skins, hot dogs, and babybel cheese.

Snack - Babybel cheese, Atkins cardboard, or pork skins

Dinner - cheesy hot dogs with chili (no beans), rotisserie chicken, bacon and eggs, egg salad with pork skins.

I didn't eat quite as much last week because of getting sick, but that should HELP, right?

Something else I've been doing, I may have mentioned this before, is drinking flavored teas from Crystal Light. 0 carbs. I've been getting the peach and raspberry flavors. Really good! And they don't need splenda or truvia which Atkins says to add 1 carb for using.

EXERCISE

Taking boxes/bins up and down stairs and hills. That counts, right? Actually, Scott did a WHOLE lot more than I did, but we still worked hard. I also took Abby and her Aunt Katie out for walk a lot last weekend, which was really nice because it was so cool outside. This week I'll be exercising my arms with scrubbing floors and counters and everything else in the old apartment. Hopefully it will help!!


I'm still looking into phase 2 for Atkins. I still need to read more about it before I get to it. I want to have all my bases covered and be prepared when I start. I may start it next weekend!

New Short Term Goal

Looks like the family may get involved in the Huntsville Turkey Trot 5K this year on Thanksgiving Day. I want to be able to do well in it, so we'll see! It will also (hopefully) make me less hungry for Thanksgiving lunch that day (or make me feel like I've burned a lot of fat/calories so I can eat all I want). Haha. I'll try for the former!