Jessica & Jen - Biggest Loser Million Pound Match Up: Jess

STRESS!

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 22:39:28 GMT

I haven't quite figured out how to overcome emotional eating. I've had a whopper of a week. I won't go into details, but there's been one challenge after another. It seems I'll do really well and I'm really motivated for awhile, and then something happens that I deal with by eating. My question is... how do I stop falling in to this bad habit? There is always going to be stress in life - I can't change that. I'm frustrated because I haven't been able to completely change falling back into old habits. So, not only was the week bad in general... it is worse because I dealt with the bad by eating badly. I truly feel like I'm commited to changing my lifestyle.... but, wow, it's really tough when things aren't going your way. This starts a new week... so I guess I wipe the slate clean and try to have a better week. I really don't think it could be worse, so I guess I can only go up, right?? Jillian is big on dealing with the root of the problem.... the real reason why we have the habits we do. I guess I have to do some soul searching to find out what my "thing" is. Oh.... the scale.... well, I'm up 4 pounds. Lovely, huh?

Yay!

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 11:18:12 GMT

I had a good weigh in... I was sort of surprised but very happy! I did well this week but didn't expect such a significant loss! I am 150.2!! That's a loss of 4.8 pounds (and SOOOO close to the 140s)... I'm pumped! I have to be honest, my motivation was dwindling, but this is just what I needed to kick it back in to high gear!

Weigh in....

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 20:50:11 GMT

I knew this one was going to be bad. Jen and I went to St. Louis over the weekend for Mardi Gras. Even though we got a little exercise....(like walking ALL DAY on Saturday, and pushing my friends car out of the snow!)... there were lots of high calorie meals and beverages involved! I won't speak for both of us... but I didn't make the best decisions! So needless to say... I was up this week. I weighed in at 155.0, up 1.2 pounds from last week. I'm not going to dwell on it, though... we don't always make perfect decisions. I'm looking ahead... and I'm going to bust my a$$ this week to make up for it!!

Another week....

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 23:19:04 GMT

Almost another week has passed quickly by... I gotta tell ya, I'm having a hard time. The most difficult thing has been finding the time to work out. I haven't MADE the time, like I can and should! I could get up earlier... but I'm so sleepy in the morning! Then by the time I get home and settle down and get my daughter to bed, I'm completely drained of energy! I seriously go to bed at like 9:30!! How lame!

**EXCUSES!!**

I know from past experience if I get into a routine of working out every day I have much more energy and it becomes a lot easier to get up the motivation. My workouts have been sporadic the past couple weeks and I'm really dragging because of it (and noticing it on the scale, too!!) The healthy diet alone is not going to do it for me... I know that from past experience. Am I TRYING to fail?? What is wrong with me!?!? UGH!

Jen and I are travelling to St. Louis this weekend - Mardi Gras! (At least I think we are.... weather might not cooperate!) I'm glad we'll be together and can hopefully keep each other on track. Maybe she'll kick my butt into shape and get me back on the workout wagon!!

~Jess

UGH!!

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 11:06:04 GMT

I weighed in yesterday but that's about the only time I got out of bed all day! I was sick as a dog! Feeling better today, but I'm pretty bummed about my results yesterday. I weighed 153.8... only down .6 pounds!! UGH... so frustrating! I felt like I did ok with sticking to my calories, but I didn't work out as much as I should have. This week I'll kick it up in hopes for better results on the scale! Jen... you did fantastic! Keep up the great work!

~Jess

Yikes!

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 00:45:08 GMT

This week has flown by! I've so missed writing about my experiences.... it's theraputic and motivating to chronicle this journey and to read about other's experiences! I have had an exceptionally busy week and have not found the time to log on... I really need to do this to help my success so let's hope that doesn't happen again anytime soon! To sum up the last four days... I've done pretty well. I've been drinking the water, getting in the fruits and veggies, controlling my portions and getting in little spurts of activity when I have the chance. I think being busy helped because I wasn't thinking about food all the time... HA! I watched the show Tuesday... wow, I was surprised and sad to see the Pink team go. I really liked them and I was happy to see they have continued and had success at home! Ali looked especially great! I'm starting to FEEL great... but I can't wait until I (and others) start to SEE results! I'm off to do a little yoga and get some cleaning done.... Hopefully later I'll have a little time to update our site. Jen - hope things are going well your way!

~Jess

This is what I needed!!!

Sun, 20 Jan 2008 14:14:58 GMT

Jen and I got a late start compared to a lot of the teams, so today is the day - our FIRST weigh-in! I can't say I was super excited when I woke up. I had some ups and downs this week so I wasn't sure how the scale was going to treat me. I feel like I lost a little, but as we all know from our weight loss adventures, that doesn't always reflect on the scale. So got up and decided to get it overwith right away. I almost didn't want to look! Much to my surprise.... 154.4 - WOOOHOOOO!!! I'm down 3.6 pounds!!!! In "Biggest Loser" terms, that's 2.28%. Considering I didn't have a "perfect" week, I'm pretty pumped!

I'm excited to see where Jen is this week.... she's been busting her a$$ even though she's had some personal challenges, and I hope the scale reflects that!

What I've learned this week:

You don't have to deprive yourself of everything you love.

In the past, if I ate something that I felt was "cheating", I'd figure I'd already blown the day so I may as well get the best of it. I would then eat whatever I wanted for the rest of the day. This week, there were a couple times when I ate something that made me feel guilty (a bagel from Panera on Friday, a piece of birthday cake yesterday). Instead of quitting for the day, I made adjustments to stay within my daily calorie intake goal. This was not easy, but I felt great by the end of the day. I know that if I REALLY want to indulge I can, but I will need to decide if the adjustments I will have to make are worth it or not! I think this is important lesson in changing your lifestyle vs. just dieting. It is not realistic to think you will never eat anything that is unhealthy so you have to learn how to handle it when you do!

~Jess

Good day!

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 11:35:47 GMT

Yesterday was a good day! I appreciate everyone's support... it helps me keep my eye on the prize. I stayed within my calorie limits and drank a lot more water than I have been. I still want to drink more... but one day at a time! I didn't get my workout in, but now my cyst is gone! I can get 3 workouts in before our weigh in on Sunday! Things are looking up! Hope everyone has a great day!

Let's get this party started!

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 12:52:42 GMT

I'm so excited to begin this journey.... I feel like I have the tools and support to be successful with my weight loss this time. Like a lot of people, I have been in a neverending cycle of yo-yo diets and it's time for that to end! This time I'm making a commitment not only to lose weight, but to be healthy. I see my 5 year old daughter picking up some of my unhealthy habits and that has to stop now. I don't want her to struggle with weight as I have my entire life! With a family history of heart disease and Type 2 Diabetes, it is necessary for me to take control now! I see my mother facing multiple health issues and I know that I want to do everything I can to prevent myself from going down that same path! Even though Jen and I are not in the same city, it is nice to have her support and I think that will help me follow through and change my lifestyle.

In my commitment to be healthy, I have another goal to quit smoking. This will be a difficult one to acheive, but I will be blogging about my experience with this as well... hope you don't mind!

~Jess

My challenge for the day: Breakfast!

Over the past 3 or 4 months, I have been emotional eating a lot. My most difficult part of the day is breakfast. I have been going to the cafeteria at work and my standard has been a biscuit and gravy, two bacon, a hash brown patty. As if that's not enough, I'd throw in an Otis Spunkmeyer chocolate chip muffin too! This morning, I grabbed a muffin out of habit and made my way to the counter to order the rest. OOPS! I wasn't even thinking about it!! Luckily I remembered and grabbed oatmeal and some fresh fruit instead. PHEW! That was a close call!