Felt a bit tired this morning, woke up at 5:00am then Did 1 hour of cardio, absolutely smashed myself! Felt great but really buggered! Found it hard to eat my protein oatmeal but forced most of it down as I needed the energy. Think I under-ate yesterday so was feeling the effects today. Just have to try and get that balance right. I'll get there. Ate well today
Meal 1: Oatmeal/Protein
Meal 2: Tin salmon on 1 slice wholemeal bread
Meal 3: Chicken, vegies, sweet potato
Meal 4: spinach, chicken, little bit of brown rice and kidney beans, green vegies, low fat dressing.
Meal 5: Small steak and vegies

Its toughest to remain focused in lunch here in my office. We have a big cafeteria which serves out tasty food but unfortunately not the healthiest. I have realized that if i have to track my nutrition i will have to make my own lunch.

But making a lunch requires much more preparation. fortunately my apartment is nearby so i can go over there and make something. I prepare for it in the morning like cut the vegetables etc.

however ,I think it would be better if i start packing nice lunch and bring it to office. That way i would have no excuse not to eat it and not get tempted by the food in the cafeteria.

Wow! Maybe I'm finally getting into an "exercise as a priority" mode! After work I ran errands, then suddenly got hit with a piercing headache. My first thought was to take aspirin and lay down, but then I thought since it was cool enough to go ahead and walk, I thought maybe the exercise and fresh air would actually help more than laying down. I walked 2 miles (well it's actually more, because I do each of the 8 lanes of the track, so I can remember how many times I've gone around). And by the time I was done my headache was gone!!! Good thing too, as I had phone calls the rest of the evening and wouldn't have gotten a chance to get away later if I had waited.

Hi, my name is Cristi Jones and I am 33 years old. I am an American living in Germany right now with my husband. We moved here 3 1/2 years ago for my husband's career. He works for an encryption software company based out of Palo Alto, Ca. It has been challenging but rewarding as I have traveled quite a bit during this time. However, the rest of the time I am at home alone during the day and increasingly bored. This has not helped my eating habits and weight management. I am sad because a lot of the pictures I have of my travels include an overweight ME. We are going to return to the States in 6 months or so and I am determined to get back to a healthy weight and a healthy me in this time frame.

Mornng break - I decided to try doing the online abs exercises over break. Of course break is also when I have my 2nd meal of the day, so I had oatmeal with vanilla yogurt in it. My tummy was a little full to be doing ab exercises. I got thru 5 minutes of the Intermediate one that is about 12 minutes long. Tomorrow I need to set the a/c lower about 15 minutes before break, as I probably could have gone longer, but didn't want to work up a sweat here at work.

Tuesday August 26, 2008
Day 2 (Lost 2 pounds since yesterday? Today's weight 169.5 yesterday was 171.5)

Nutrition Facts
Calories 1218; Total Fat 43 (Sat Fat 11); Carbs 102g; Fiber 16g; Protein 118g.

Meals
B - Steel Cut Oatmeal 1/4C; Brown Sugare 1 tsp; Whey Protein EAS 1 scoop; Coffee 2 cups

S1 - Whole Egg 1/2; Egg White 2.5; Bell Peppers 1/4 cup; Light Bread WHOLE WHEAT Arnold's 1 Slice (No High Frustose Corn Syrup and Whole Grain Bread)

L - Salmon marinated in olive oil and seasoning - grilled; Barilla Whole Grain pasta (2oz. dry); Raw Spinach

S2 - 2 Whole Eggs; Cucumber (1 whole) in vinegar; Equal

Yesterday, I had my meals planned out well...then dinner hit after kickboxing. It is way too easy to just eat out: childs burger, childs fries and a few fried appetizers (cheese sticks, jalapeno poppers). So total calories were not bad BUT fat was high, carbs were low and protein was just okay. Fiber hasnt been the greatest lately--even with eating more oatmeal for breakfast :(

This week I have brought my lunch and snacks for work! Cottage cheese in the afternoon, yogurt in the morning and my lunches were:
mon: lean cuisine frozen pizza (was in a hurrry)
tue: progresso low sodium chicken and rice

Sorry guys I was away and not able to read your blogs I'll try and get through them. But if there is any thing anybody needed help with right away please re post or email me thanks!

As long as they don't become self aware I should be alright.

The living room conversion is going well. As I peer out over my computer monitor I now see a treadmill and an elliptical machine. Six hours from now, I should also be able to see a Stair Stepper machine! :)

YeeHaw! just keeps getting better and better :D

checked in on the Wii Fit today and I'm right in the middle of my new weight range of 269-274lbs

I'm guessing I should be in a new weight range come the third week of September :)
almost forgot to the right of my monitor is also an adjustable bench and a few friendly dumbbells :)

My Vegas vacation went well. I ironicly didn't drink or gamble. I'm not big on gambling, I'm more of a play it safe girl. Haha. I did good though. It was a little difficult to keep track of eating. We ate at weird hours, but I always ordered something healthy. So, I didn't eat every 3 hours, but I did good. I even bought my own groceries when I was there so I wouldn't cheat. There is always room for improvement.

I have a question for Julia:
The end of my three months is coming up fast. I was wondering where I go from there. I know you shouldn't carb cycle for more than three months at a time but I don't know what to do when I'm done. I don't want to go back to the old eating habits. I'm staying at 1500 calories a day and at 1900 for my high carb days. So, after this program do you sugesst staying at 1900 for a normal day? Should my workout routine stay the same. I just am scared of gaining back everything I've lost. Ya know?

Wednesday August 27, 2008
Day 3

Nutrition Facts
Calories 1286; Total Fat 49 (Sat Fat 12); Carbs 102g; Fiber 23g; Protein 118g.

Meals
B - KASHI Go-Lean Instant Oatmeal; Whey Protein EAS 1 scoop; Coffee 2 cups

S1 - Whole Egg 1/3; Egg White 3; Potatoes OBrian (No oil); Salsa

L - Romaine Lettuce; Tomato; 1/4# lean beef; pinto beans with chili sauce (3/4 serv.); 1 oz. Red Fat cheddar; Kettle Brand Baked Tortilla Chips - whole grain and all natural (1oz).

S2 - Organic Peanut Butter 2 Tbsp; Celery 3 Lg Stalks; 1C of Decaf

D - Wax Beans, Chicken 3 oz., and Cucumber slices

Water

welp, leaving GHF for now--going to do a face-to-face approach, I am sure I will be back sooner than later.

hugs and best wishes to all!!
`Robyn