Better late than never . . .

Today has been crazy busy, so I'm just now getting to write up my blog for today!  I've been running around the city promoting all day, went to work out for awhile with my friend Terra & now I find myself at Applebee's for a special party thing celebrating local St Louis-ian Murphy Lee's launch of his wine, Freaky Muscato (which is pretty freaking awesome).

Today is Tuesday, so that means its weigh-in day!

Going in to this week I knew it would'nt be as triumphant as my first weigh in post, but I had high hopes because I've been kicking my ass at the gym this week.  But I'm happy with the result, because hey a loss is a loss!!

Previous weight  

274

Current weight   

272

Total loss of 2 lbs!

(Also i noticed that my scale only reads in 1/2 lb increments so that gives either number a bit of wiggle room.)

This isn't a super long post, so I apologize but I should stop ignoring my friends at the table. :)

Ingredients.

$10 says Mackenzie won't read this post.

I'm sitting in the breakroom at work at this moment & next to me is a tray of cupcakes (one of our managers is transferring to another store).  I entertained the thought of having one for a minute, but then I took a gander at the ingredients sticker on the box.

Have a look for yourself. 

THERE SHOULD NEVER BE THAT MANY INGREDIENTS IN A CUPCAKE!!!

Ugh.  I'm a bit disgusted right now, but quite happy with my apple & baby carrots I brought to snack on.

Karissa 1

Cupcakes 0

First Weigh-In! And some other things . . .

It's been a super busy week!  Until yesterday I hadn't had a day off for a week, had tons of shopping to do, fun stuff planned with friends & I managed to go to the gym every day since I joined but Saturday (well, and today. . . but more on that later.)

Shopping for groceries always seems like an event in itself.  I'm the person that stands in the aisle & calculates how much I'm paying per ounce of one brand over the other & I'm indecisive to boot.  By far my favorite place to get groceries is Trader Joe's & I always make at least one big stop there a month to stock up.  Then, since I'm close by I'll run in Whole Foods for a few things I can't get anywhere else (or sometimes, remarkably, they manage to be cheaper there).  This is the result of the first leg of Karissa's grocery marathon.

It was too late to do much else but go home at that point, so I did.  Then the next day I ran by Aldi's to grab a couple items they had on sale & wound up with all this for super cheap!  I love Aldi's.

With a fridge full of goodies, I feel pretty confident in my food choices this week & am stoked for smoothies & soup galore!

When joining Club Fitness, they give you one complimentary personal training session.  Since I pretty much clueless as to how half the stuff there works, I was really thankful for the opportunity to learn a little.  When Mackenzie & I signed up we chose Tuesday (yesterday) for our appointment since I'm always off Tuesdays.  Turns out she got super sick, so I had to brave it alone.

I am a super awkward person most of the time, especially with people I don't know (not to mention a personal trainer who is going to ask me lots of question I'm not exactly comfortable answering).  I was a little nervous to go alone, but glad to have some one on one time with a trainer.  Darin was my trainer, he was super nice & he tailored my session to exercises that would do the most good for me.  I was doing good through the whole session & then he kicked my ass.  Hard.  Let's just say I haven't done squats or lunges in a long time & now I remember why.  I walked out after the session feeling fine & then when I got to the stairwell I quickly found out how badly he had kicked my ass.  Getting up the stairs of my apartment when I got home yesterday was a feat in itself & I'm quite sure I hurt worse today.  Work is not going to be fun tonight!  But I know that what he showed me is going to help me out a ton.  No pain, no gain, right?  Ow.

Now on to the good stuff!

When I started this blog last week I didn't start out with any concrete information on my weight or anything, to be honest when I wrote that first post, it all just sort of came out uncontrollably.  Honestly, I've been a bit scared to share my weight, its not something I'm proud of & that I want to shout from the rooftops (I can't even bear to tell the DMV that what my ID says isn't exactly true).

For quite some time I've been hovering around 280 pounds.  Its not a number I like.  At all.  When I came home after visiting my family over Christmas I randomly got on the scale & saw that I was at 286.  It was not a pretty site.  I was shocked & disappointed in myself & I knew that something needed to change.  Since I came back from that visit, my eating habits, for the most part, have drastically improved & with getting the gym membership I hoped that would jumpstart this process.

So without further adieu, as of yesterday my weight is:

274!!!!

With only a few weeks of better eating, less drinking & working out for 4 days I'm already down 12 pounds in the first few weeks of the new year.  Who's stoked?  ME!!!!!!

Alright, time to get ready for work now & try to hobble down the stairs.  My legs are virtually useless right now.  Wish me luck!

I should have brought headphones . . .

I didnt intend for today to be very eventful.

I set my alarm for 7 am, as I had to be at work by 8:30.  Ended up getting ready in record time, making breakfast to take with me & got to work early (which is a feat for me).  Work went by remarkably fast & before I knew it, it was break time & I got to nom one of the last bowls of my awesome vegan "chicken" noodle soup I made Sunday.  Then as soon as I went back it seemed like time for me to head home.

I've had a bag of whole grain quinoa sitting in my cabinet for, lets just say, a long time.  I've been slightly intimidated by it & kind of lost as to what to use it in.  But tonight, I made it!  I made up a small batch to have with my Mandarin Orange Gardein "chicken," with a salad on the side.  Definitely an awesome meal I'll want to repeat & not too hefty on the calories.

Hanging at home as i was finishing my dinner, my friend Mackenzie called & we decided to go to  Club Fitness  tonight & sign up for a membership.  Its something we'd talked about for a few weeks now, but we had delayed due to snow/meeting up at the right time/downright procrastination.  They have several locations within a few miles of my home, one across the street from where I work & have 24 hour access through the week at most of them.  Its super convenient & affordable to boot!

Ladies & Gentlemen, for the first time in my life, I joined a gym!

After an hour or so of awkwardness & paperwork we had our key cards & got to explore the place.  I am gym-retarded so I dont know what anything is called besides a treadmill, but we worked out for about an hour between 2 bike machines, the treadmill, a short stint on the elliptical & a bit of light weights.   According to the machines I burned at least 250 calories!

I am so stoked right now.  Im full of zest & energy & I'm super optimistic about this.  If my legs are still attached to my body tomorrow, I'm considering stopping by after work.  We'll see how I feel?

Time to end this & stop ignoring Mackenzie & the movie we're watching.  Thanks for reading & if you're one of the many people who have commented, messaged, texted or talked to me about my first post, words can't express how encouraged & loved you've all made me feel.

xoxo

An Introduction. . .

I'm going to be honest, I don't exactly know where to start with this.

My name is Karissa, I'm 26 & currently reside in the wonderful city of St Louis, MO.  I love cooking & desperately want to go to culinary school, but money is keeping that from happening right now.  I've always been a shy, reserved person & this blog is my attempt to break myself of that.  Well here goes nothing. . .

I'm starting this blog because, quite frankly, I'm unhappy with myself.  I have been as long as I can remember.  I've always been the fat girl-from elementary school to junior high, junior high to high school, and now in this weird twenty-something era I find myself in.  I've never been one to stand up for myself.  My oldest school time memories consist of mockery & teasing.  I've always been the easy one to pick on.  

After awhile I became so complacent, I just didn't care anymore.  No matter how nice I was, I got the same old taunts, the same insults, over & over again.  Whether it was from James Neumeyer (if you ever meet him, feel free to give him a swift kick to the balls for me), my father or someone else along the way, I just began to ignore it.  Each time hurt just as worse as the former, but that was my way of coping.  Here I am, years later with the same state of mind & the same tactics to dealing with my insecurity. 

A little over 7 years ago I became a vegetarian.  The music scene I was involved in heavily advocated the lifestyle & after several of my friends made the switch, I did too.  Its a choice that I'm proud of & a cause continue to support.  Back when I made the switch, I just assumed that taking that route would help me lose weight.  But I was a bad vegetarian.  Boca burgers + macaroni & cheese do not = healthy.

Over the years I have adapted my eating habits & I do believe I make MUCH better food choices that I used to, I even briefly went vegan for about 6 months 3 years ago.  But let's face it, I love cheese too much.  It doesn't matter how much celery I eat if I binge on a pizza or eat a whole pot of macaroni & cheese when my roommate isn't home.  Emotional eating is my downfall.  If I have a bad day at work, I swing by Little Caesar's on the way home.  If I'm out with friends & go home feeling rejected, then I raid the fridge when I get home & blame it on being drunk.  I know all too well what I'm doing.

This is my attempt to stop the cycle.  My friend Emily started a blog last year & I've been keeping up with her journey, even though we live 6 hours apart.  We've been friends for 8 years now & I think have been in a similar situation, but somehow managed to never talk about it.  She has been such an encouragement & inspiration to me in recent months without knowing it.  She's on her way to changing her life & I only hope I can do half as well as she has.

So onto the purpose of this blog.

I'm known to procrastinate & in recent years to not follow through with what I set out to do.  Hey if no one knows what I've set out to do, then I can't disappoint anyone, now can I?  My intention with this blog is to share what I'm doing, share my goals with my friends & whoever else along the way, so I can't hide it all anymore.
 

I want to lose weight.

I want to be proud of myself.

I want to share my story.

Alright, I suppose I have been long-winded enough with this first entry, but I hope that anyone that reads this will give me any encouragement they can & help keep me accountable.  Its going to be tough, but I think I'm ready.

xoxo