Success!

Well the sacrifice has paid off! I've lost 6.5 lbs this week! And from the highest I've ever weighed, I'm down 12 lbs.

The last couple days have been rough. I haven't had any more feelings of withdrawal but I haven't had much of an appetite. At least not for anything that is good for me. I've been craving pizza like it's going out of style. Or a big bowl of Panera Bread's White Cheddar Mac N Cheese. God that sounds so good. I'm so hoping these feelings will pass in the coming weeks. Otherwise, I have no idea how I'm going to maintain this.

I guess that's all I really have to say for now. Thanks for reading!

Holy Sugar Withdrawals Batman

This has been an interesting week to say the least. I don't know if I explained in my previous entries what this diet is all about. Basically we can't eat carbs, sugar, or dairy--all the stuff that is awesome and makes life worth living. At least we can still eat bacon. Well it hasn't been quite a week since we started but it's already the longest I've ever gone without sugar. I don't really know how I'm still up and walking around.

Like I noted previously, I started out Friday with a day of fasting. I've fasted before, for religious reasons, so although it wasn't much fun, I made it through. By Sunday, I was a wreck. On Sundays, I have to stop in to my work for an hour to make reminder calls to our patients. As I was sitting at my desk, I suddenly broke into a cold sweat and started shaking. Nothing major, just felt like garbage and wanted to take a nap. When I got home, I ate an apple (the only non-forbidden fruit on this plan). I assume I was having a moment of low blood sugar/withdrawal. I felt better but for the next couple of days I had headaches. Yesterday and today I've finally started to feel a little bit better. Anyone who thinks sugar is not addictive or there is no such thing as withdrawals, is an idiot. Maybe it wasn't a true withdrawal--and I'm not saying it's anything close to coming off of heroin or the like--but my body definitely had a physical response to the lack of sugar. My energy level is also completely shot so of course all I want to do is take naps--more so than usual. I've also discovered I don't like coffee as much as I thought I did. I can only put non-dairy creamer in my coffee so I don't know if it's that, or the fact that I depended on sugar to make it drinkable. Justin, of course, has had no issues because he's a man and men can blink and lose weight. Although he did see Cookie Dough Oreos at Wal-mart yesterday and wanted to cry.

I'm still very pleased with the food. I've tried the Mozzarella and Garlic sausage, the Mesquite Chicken, the Angus burger, and that's all I can think of off the top of my head. They've all been very good. The Angus burger is especially a favorite. If anyone reading this is thinking of purchasing the program, or already has and is wary, I would recommend, that if you are able, to cook the meat in the oven. I've even put the sausage (if it's been thawed in the fridge--we didn't have enough room in our freezer for everything) on the George Foreman grill--feels more like you're eating a real brat that way. Customer service has been good so far. We haven't needed them much but a few times I've gone on to the chat feature and asked a question and they've been very prompt in their response.

They say you shouldn't weigh yourself until it's been 2 weeks but the anticipation is killing me so I will probably weigh in Saturday. I am also looking forward to increased energy. Because this week, all I've wanted to do is curl up with an extra cheesy pizza and a mocha frappe.

Oh and, AND, I can't drink wine. *sigh* Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels, right? RIGHT?!

Personal Trainer Food Day 1

When I was young I thought I was overweight (though I don't think I actually was until high school), and would try to go without eating. I would always fail by dinnertime because I was so hungry! And I like food! So fasting yesterday before starting this diet was no fun. I made it through but it seemed like everyone was talking about food and everything smelled so good.

I started the new plan today. I had eggs and turkey sausage. From the Personal Trainer Food I had the Apple Gouda Turkey sausage and some broccoli. Everything came out of the microwave tasty. The sausage wasn't very apple-y or gouda-y but the overall flavor was good. The broccoli was tender but not mushy. I was definitely happy with it! For dinner I made a salad and added a Spicy Chicken breast. The chicken was a little mushy so I will probably warm it up in the oven next time.So I'm happy with the food so far and I hope the rest will be as good!

Personal Trainer Food

For a long time Justin and I have tried to get our weight under control. We know we're not healthy and have tried a lot of things to help us. Well our next weight loss endeavor is going to be with Personal Trainer Food, a food delivery service. Justin found a deal on Groupon for the both of us to get a month of food for about the same price we pay for groceries per month. We were a little skeptical about the taste of the food. They've received really excellent reviews on Amazon. We weren't sure how biased those would be but it was really hard to find outside reviews. I did find one girl who wrote a blog about her experience with the plan. She said the food really tasted great and the plan worked for her.

So for the next month I'm going to document my experience. My hope is that it will help me overcome my obstacles and cravings, as well as help someone else out there who might be looking for an honest review of the plan.

We received our food on Wednesday and our freezer is totally packed! We're both really excited to get started though. We purchased the 28 lunches & dinners plan. Tonight I went to the store to buy items for breakfast as well as snacks. To start out, we are supposed to fast for 24-48 hours (only water, coffee, clear liquids, and diet drinks). There is no way I'm going to fast for 2 days but I can manage one. I don't really think diet drinks are healthy and I don't like the taste anyway so I'll be avoiding those. I'm fasting tomorrow and starting the meal plan on Saturday.

We figure if we absolutely hate it, we'll never have to use it again. But with all the good reviews I think we'll be good! Once I start eating the food I'll let you all know how it tastes!

I'm gonna love myself the way I want you to love me

I don't really know if any of you have been wondering what's been going on with me lately. Sorry to leave you all hanging! I know it's been a long time since I've updated this thing.

About a month ago, Justin surprised me with a trip back to Michigan for my 30th birthday. I knew we were going on a trip but he had me convinced we were going to D.C. I even got a hold of a friend there and made tentative plans to meet up. The weekend before we left, we joined some guys Justin works with for barbecuing and football. Justin and I were sitting at the table with another guy, Drew, and he asks, "So why are you guys heading to Michigan? Spend time with family?" Taylor, whose apartment we were at, stood there open-mouthed; Justin just stared at him and I was looking from Drew to Justin, trying to process what he just said. Finally Taylor says, "Dude, it was a surprise!" Drew felt terrible and we all had a good laugh at his expense. Even though I knew we were going to Michigan, I had no idea the big to-do Justin had planned. He had me convinced that none of my friends could make it down from GR. I was actually kind of mad at all of them! We were all hanging out in the basement of his parents' house when he asked me to go upstairs with him to help him bring some food down. Then all my friends popped out from behind the furniture and yelled, "Surprise!" It was so great to see everyone. I only wish we had had more time to hang out.

The week we got back, I started my new job! I'm working as a receptionist at a physical therapy clinic. Training was a little overwhelming but I guess that goes for any new job. I've got the basic gist of things but of course I'm still learning. I really like it so far. It's a nice change of pace to have a desk job. I'm also only working part time which is fine since Justin received a raise with his job.

Other than those bits of excitement, life is just chugging along. Oh and I guess if you really want to know, Justin and I are officially trying to start a family. I guess I caught my friends off guard when I told them at the party! I still assume everyone knows everything because that's how it always was. And, with that, we're also trying to make some changes regarding our health. We found a deal on Groupon for a food delivery program that we're going to try. Once we start that I'm probably going to write more so about the experience. So I hope you'll stick around!

Let go and just be free

Happy Holidays all! I hope you all had a great Christmas and are looking forward to the new year. The title of this post is from Katy Perry's "Unconditionally" from her new album Prism which I got as a gift. Yes, I actually got a CD. I really feel like I show my age when I say that! Well anyway, I have a lady crush on Katy Perry and I will probably listen to this song over and over and over again.

I wanted to update you all on mine and Justin's trip. I'll get to that in a minute. And I'll forewarn you that this will probably be a long entry so if you're reading this, I hope you  have a few minutes. First I'll give you the low down on the kind of every day happenings. 

Christmas was pretty low key here. I was a little bit sad about not getting to see my family but I wasn't as down as I thought I would be. I guess all the years I've had to work on the holidays have sort of helped. There's been many a year that I haven't made it to my grandma's house or seen the VanHoutens. I miss them all and hate missing out but I suppose I've just gotten used to it. It was hard not to be with our parents and siblings though. We did get to talk on the phone and Skype with them though. Not quite the same but it will do for now. Justin was a good sport about doing some holiday activities like decorating cookies and getting a real tree. 

In job related news, I applied for a job as a front desk coordinator for a physical/occupational therapy clinic. The process has moved fairly quickly; I've had an interview and gone to do observation in a matter of two days. The gentleman who is the facility director at the location where I would work (there are several around southeast Georgia) is out of town until next week so I may not get an update for a  little while. Everyone put in a good word for me though so I'm feeling very hopeful!

Now, on to the details of our trip! I've been meaning to write before I forget everything but I just haven't really felt the motivation. So I will do my best to recount everything in as much detail as I can remember.

We started with a weekend stop in Tampa to see Liz and Dan. They were going to be dog-sitting for us and we thought the least we could do was make the long drive and spend some time with them. It's always a great time with them and I hope we can hang out more now that we live closer! Justin and I left early Sunday morning for the cruise port in Miami. It was quite the drive and it was taking longer than we had thought it would. We realized too late that Justin had set his GPS to avoid toll roads (the most direct route). We made it a little later than we planned but still with plenty of time to get to the boat. As we drove around Miami trying to find the lot we were keeping our car in, we had a slight panic attack when we saw a line of cars going around the block trying to get in a lot. Thankfully, we called the number we had and they directed us to the correct one and we had a reservation so we were all good. 

We were so excited to get to our room. We had a balcony which was a definite improvement over our window last time! 

I was glad to have the extra space since we would be on the boat longer than our last trip as well. We spent the afternoon enjoying the balcony and exploring the boat. There was a big screen on the lido deck that showed movies all week. There was also a water slide, three pools, and a couple adults only areas. I was so grateful for the adults only pool and hot tubs. Whenever we would walk past the family pool I would cringe at all the screaming children. I know that will be us someday but for now I am enjoying grown ups only time. Anyway, we headed to dinner and found that our table was a 4-person booth. It was set for 4 so we assumed another couple would be joining us. They turned out to be a couple about our age from Connecticut/New York. They were nice and we enjoyed their company but we didn't part ways as BFFs. 

Our first full day on the ship was a day at sea. We just spent time lounging by the pool and relaxing. Tuesday, we made port in Cozumel, Mexico. We disembarked and headed to our day at the beach at Mr. Sancho's. If you ever travel to Cozumel and aren't going to the mainland, definitely spend a day at Mr. Sancho's. We purchased the all inclusive package which included access to the pool, beach, lounge chairs/tables, lockers, and snorkel equipment. Justin had upgraded us to the Romantic package which included a cabana and 30-minute massages for each of us. We just laid on the beach all day and ate and drank and soaked in the sun. We had a waiter that took care of us all day too. He kept the margaritas coming! It was an amazing day and the weather couldn't have been better.

The next day we were at Costa Maya, Mexico. We had tickets to take a tour of the Chacchoben Ruins and then to go to a Mayan village and have a traditional meal. We were lucky that it was just us and our tour guide. We met up with another group for the tour at the ruins. Our guide was very knowledgeable and I enjoyed learning the history of the ruins. It rained on and off throughout the day but it didn't ruin our time. After the tour, we split off with out guide and he drove us to have lunch. We learned how they make tortillas and got to make some ourselves. We were terrible at it, haha! They were very delicious though. These two ladies had made this amazing spread for us. I guess another group of 4 was supposed to join us but cancelled. They really missed out because it was the best part of the day. We had tamales, chicken, vegetables, rice, beans, and flan for dessert! We also had hibiscus infused water which was the most fantastic thing ever! I also had a cup of hot cocoa, made right there from the cocoa bean, which was very bitter so I added a bit of brown sugar. The food was so amazing and Justin and I continued to marvel at how we were the only ones there. All those people majorly missed out! Oh, I almost forgot! On our way to the ruins, we had to stop at a checkpoint and be searched for guns! I wasn't worried obviously but they actually made us get out of the car and wanted to look in our camera bag. I guess if you're caught with even a clip you can go to jail for a year. Our guide said, "There is still crime but no one is getting shot." All I could think was, that would never happen here!


Our next stop was Mahogany Bay, Roatan, Honduras. We had originally booked a tour guide to take us around the island but when we saw the gloomy day we decided to sleep in a bit. We did end up finding a taxi service that would give us a tour of the island for the same price. Our tour guide was great. He was about our age and spoke English very well. We actually happened across another couple with a guide that spoke very little English and they sort of hijacked our guide with a ton of questions. So I'm glad we got him! He had even spent a few years in Savannah! He drove us around the entire perimeter of the island stopping at a few good photo ops and then taking us where we wanted to go...the Iguana Farm and Gumbalimba Park. The Iguana Farm was a bust and I think we were both a little annoyed that we paid money to get in. I guess the iguanas stay in the trees in the rain so only about a half dozen or so were walking around. We could see some in the trees and on top of buildings but it was pretty disappointing overall. Gumbalimba Park, on the other hand, was amazing! We had a guided tour through the park and we learned about the history of the island. We walked through an insect museum, over a pirate bridge, and on to see macaws and Capuchin monkeys! A handler put a macaw on my shoulder and it sort of ruffled its feathers. Our guide says, "I think you may have just been pooped on." Sure enough, down my back, there was bird poop. I shouldn't have been surprised I guess; I have bad luck when it comes to being pooped on by birds. Justin took a picture of course. The worst part though was that no one had anything to wipe it off with. Our guide did find a hose though so I got to walk around the rest of the day with half of my shirt and part of my shorts soaking wet. Next we were on to the Capuchin monkeys. They came right down out of the trees and sat on our shoulders and heads. The handlers fed them seeds to keep them around. They were so cute and soft! And I remember being surprised that they weren't smelly either. I don't know why I thought they would be. Anyway, we hung out with them for probably 20 minutes, just letting them sit and jump between Justin and me. They kept trying to pull my bobby pins out of my hair and searching for food in Justin's shirt pocket. I think it was definitely a highlight of the trip.

And then we had a "you live and you  learn" moment. We get back to the port after our trip and realize we don't have enough cash for our taxi driver. Well there are ATMs everywhere so we don't worry on it too much. Unfortunately, the ATM doesn't recognize our bank so we can't get money. Justin then thinks he can get to the ATM on the boat and then run back out. So I stay with the driver so he doesn't think we're gonna stiff him. Well, since it's so close to departure, the cruise staff won't let Justin back off once he's on. So he doesn't get on and we kind of start to freak out about what we're gonna do. Justin finally finds a shop on the pier that will give him cash back. We give our driver the money and Justin informs me that it is 2:40pm and we were supposed to be on the boat by 2:30pm. And if you've ever been on a cruise, you know a lot of these piers aren't a short walk. So we are running through the duty free shops and down the pier and thankfully they weren't leaving yet. AND, we weren't even the last ones on the boat. We were up in our room, sitting on the balcony, and we see this golf cart come driving up to the gangway and a couple gets off and on to the ship. So that was our panic moment and we made sure when at our last port of call, we were back on the ship with plenty of time to spare!

Our last port of call was Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. We hadn't planned anything to do there since we couldn't find much from our online searches. We asked around a bit and found the best deal was to take a guided tour. We learned a bit about the island and got to see the Governor's House (who is appointed by Queen Elizabeth) and Hell, and stopped at the Tortuga Rum Shop, the Dolphin Aquarium, and the Turtle Farm. The Turtle Farm was really the only place we wanted to stop so all the other things were a bonus. We got to see tons of sea turtles. They're huge! I mean, you see em on TV but to see them in real life is nuts! They had smaller pools with medium sized ones and then even more pools with baby ones that you could hold. They weren't hatchlings but about the size of a turtle you might have as a pet. We were allowed to just reach in and grab them! They were so neat. Along with the monkeys, it was definitely one of the coolest things we did on our trip. 

We headed back to the ship with plenty of time to spare, deciding to take advantage of the fact that a lot of people would be ashore. We went down the water slide a few times and got to sit in the hot tub without being packed in like sardines. We were able to find lounge chairs in the adults only area and Justin actually fell asleep. A very relaxing afternoon indeed.

We had one final day at sea as we sailed back to Miami. I can't remember all what we did now, but I do know we decided to go to Bingo. The jackpot was $5000 so we figured why not. Of course, it was nearly impossible to win the jackpot but I did win $100! 

I know there was so much more we did and I'll probably never remember every detail. We had many excellent dinners (pretty much great food in general), went to some hilarious comedy shows, took cheesy posed pictures, and even went to Harry Potter trivia! It was such a fun and relaxing trip and I hope that, even once we have kids, Justin and I can take small trips for just the two of us. 

If you actually read all of this, thank you! I know it was long and it actually took me two days to write. There are pictures on my facebook page, which I know is where a lot of my readers come from. So you've probably seen them already but if not, they're there. I was going to post some in this entry but my laptop is not reading my memory card for some reason. Well, now I'm looking ahead to the big 3-0 in just a few weeks!

Happy Thanksgiving

It's Thanksgiving Day and my husband and I have just finished enjoying some pumpkin pie. I got out of bed before Justin so that I could make the pie for him. I hadn't really planned on making pie but there weren't any frozen ones when I went shopping last weekend. Since I'm Miss Suzy Homemaker these days I figured why not go for it. I ended up with two pies instead of one so Justin will be taking one to work with him tomorrow. I watched the Macy's parade while waiting for Justin to roll out of bed. When he finally did wake up, we enjoyed a late breakfast of bacon and eggs. Once we saw Santa safely arrive (thank goodness my husband humors me), we flipped the channel to the Lions game. It was amazing to see the Lions finally win a Thanksgiving Day game for the first time in 10 years. While we watched the game I peeled potatoes and snapped green beans. I decided to make just a turkey breast roast, which I've done in the past, since it was just the two of us. We had all the fixings to go along with it though and it was amazing.

In other news, I'm still unemployed. At this point, I'm holding off the search until we get back from vacation.

And speaking of vacation, we're on our way soon! We booked all of our excursions and I think I'm most looking forward to lying in a hammock on the beach with a good book and a good drink. I'll be sure to update when we get back and tell you all about it.

A couple of weekends ago I met up with some gals at the Savannah Food & Wine Festival. It was a little chaotic trying to find everyone but it all worked out in the end. A few of us ended up splitting off from the group. It was very crowded, making it hard to keep track of everyone. Anyway, for the price of admission, you received a wine glass for unlimited wine tasting, and five food tokens. It was a lot of fun just walking the square and tasting what Savannah had to offer. I wish we would have had more of an opportunity to get to know one another but it was a nice time overall and I'm very glad I went. One of the girls and I stopped at the macaroon shop on our way out. I couldn't recall if I had ever had a macaroon, and if I had, it had been a long time. I bought half a dozen and they were all amazing. I will definitely be stopping there again when Justin and I are downtown.

Well, we're about the finish off our Thanksgiving evening with a movie so I will talk to you all again soon.