200lb Princess

It is truly amazing what a difference my change in diet has done for my body. Now, I’m not saying that I’m now only 120 lbs, and it’s all because of changing how I eat for 2 weeks, but honestly… my energy has just skyrocketed! Even when I was losing weight eating only 1200 calories a day, I would always be tired at 2 pm. There happens to be a staff meeting that I attend at 2 pm, and I’d always be trying to keep myself awake during the meeting! Now, I don’t get tired at all during the day! I am just a little ball of energy now, and it’s amazing to truly grasp and understand the effect that diet has on energy levels! Okay, I know… enough with the exclamation points, right? I just can’t help myself!

So, what has my diet been, you ask? Here’s a quick layout of how I’ve been eating. It’s actually a slightly modified version of Adele Puhn’s “5 Day Miracle Diet”. The “5 Day Miracle Diet” is a great book, and if you like the sound of how I’ve been eating, you should definitely check out that book!

Breakfast:

A slice of bread (whole grain of course) with either a small chunk of cheese (I use those snack sized Land O’ Lake cheeses) or 2 tablespoons of peanut butter.

Snack:

Between breakfast and lunch I have a fruit. Any kind of fruit; for instance, today I ate an orange. It was AMAZING! So sweet I thought I was eating candy!

Lunch:

Salad! Filled with veggies, cheese, some sort of meat (today was turkey), and a great salad dressing. Did you know that Bolthouse Farms now has salad dressing? They are YUMMY! http://www.bolthouse.com/

Snack:

I again have a piece of fruit. Today I brought an organic gala apple with me.

Dinner:

This is the part where I don’t really follow the “5 Day Miracle Diet” way… I pretty much eat whatever my fiancé and I are eating for dinner; I just try to make sure that I don’t eat too much.

With the “5 Day Miracle Diet”, after some point in time you get one day to cheat on (eat stuff you’re not supposed to eat), and I’ve decided to do that as well. I have some Immaculate Cookies to make for my next cheat day!

Oh, and I’ve also been going to the gym at least 2 days a week (I wish I could squeeze another day in, but that so far has not happened), and I go for an hour or more each time! That has also affected my energy levels, I’m sure.

So, that’s what I’m doing, and it is working great! I may only have 45 days until the wedding, and I’m not close to where I would like to be, but with my choice of healthy foods and exercise, I’m sure that come wedding time, I will be feeling like a beautiful bride indeed.

-200lb Princess

My wedding dress came in. My Mom and I picked it up from the Alfred Angelo store this past Sunday (12/13). It is soooo beautiful! I absolutely love it. Here’s the issue though; it fits, but not perfectly/fully. It doesn’t zip up the last inch or so, but not by a lot. I truly believe that maybe Mom and the sales clerk were being too pansy with the dress, but I’d rather not hurt my dress, so it doesn’t matter. I’m too fat. My dress is a bit too small. The culprit? Back fat! When my Mom and the sales clerk were trying to zip up the dress the rest of the way, my back fat was getting all bunched together, and wouldn’t allow them to zip it up! Curse you, back fat! You’re going down!

Okay, so who agrees that back fat is the most unforgiving, worst place to have fat?? I’m starting to think that my thighs can be fatty and have as much cellulite as they want to, I just don’t want to deal with back fat ever again. Well, I take that back, I’d rather not have fatty, cellulite ridden thighs, but when it comes to the immediate problem at hand, I’d rather have less back fat. Unfortunately, after doing some research online concerning how to rid my body of back fat (or at least enough in order for my dress to zip up for my wedding), I have come to the conclusion that back fat is the hardest fatty area to tone. And you know what? I’ve actually seen really skinny women with back fat before, so I guess maybe it is true! Oy vey! Of course the one thing standing between me and my wedding dress would be the hardest part of the body to tone. I did find some gems for battling against back fat, and I will let you know if any of them end up working for me.

On ezinearticles.com, John Davenport suggests the following for getting rid of that pesky back fat:

“To get rid of back fat is the wish of many people. We all know how sexy a healthy, firm, toned back looks, and how a fatty back can detract from your appearance. When it comes to getting the back of your dreams, you need to do 2 things simultaneously: lose back fat and tone the back muscles. Both of these together will ensure that you have a beautiful back.

Even though spot reducing fat is difficult, doing back strength exercises will tone your muscles and provide you with a firm looking back. These exercises need to be part of your overall process to reduce back fat which includes strength exercises, cardiovascular activity, and a proper diet.

3 Exercises to Get Rid of Back Fat

1. The bent over-row – In this exercise you take a dumbbell, go over to a horizontal bench, place the dumbbell on the floor to one side of the bench, kneel with one leg on the bench and support yourself with your corresponding hand. Your other leg should be straight and on the floor slightly to the rear. Grasp the dumbbell with your free hand from the floor and pull it towards your lower ribs. Return the dumbbell towards the floor until your arms is stretched. Change arms and repeat.

2. Seated row – This is an exercise you can do at the gym. You sit at the rowing machine with your chest against the pad. Grab both levers of the rowing machine and pull them back until you feel that your elbows have passed your torso. Hold and let the level go slowly back to the starting position.

3. Bent over row with a barbell – Stand with your knees slightly bet. Bend over with a straight back and grab a barbell with both hands. Pull the barbell with both hands until it touches your waist. Lower the barbell slowly downwards until both of your arms are extended. Repeat this 10-15 times.

Doing these 3 exercises to get rid of back fat is a great way to tone your back muscles. Make sure to fit them into your regular routine and you will see improvement in your upper body shape in general and back in particular.”

This webpage - I believe by John Davenport as well – discusses how in order to minimize back fat (instead of just working on toning the back), overall fat in the body needs to be reduced (i.e., normal diet/exercise). It’s still really good information, and mentions cardio workouts that help reduce back fat.

http://www.worldofdiets.com/get-rid-of-back-fat/

Finally, here are some more back fat banishing exercises thanks to Prevention. These involve the use of an exercise ball.

http://www.prevention.com/health/fitness/strength-training/banish-back-fat/article/e11ed08f88803110VgnVCM20000012281eac____

I will try some of these out, and if anything gives me good results, I’ll sing its praises in a future blog.

My wedding dress WILL fit perfectly.

- 200lb Princess

Okay, so I realize that I haven’t updated my blog since October 3rd. So much has happened between then and now that I don’t even know where to begin. I know that these will all sound like excuses, but hopefully by the time I finish typing, you’ll at least slightly understand my negligence.

1. My thesis for my first Master’s was due on October 12th. Let’s just say that I got it done JUST in time. We’re talking, 20 minutes before it was due I was still editing it. Yes, I realize that I should have been a good student and not procrastinated, but you don’t understand how great I am at procrastination. However, I do not condone procrastination in any way, shape, or form; it’s just a bad habit of mine that is difficult to break.

2. The weekend after my thesis was due, I finally had a housewarming party (1 year after purchasing my house).

3. One of my closest friends, Francesca Luciana Martino – age 23, died in a motorcycle accident on October 19th. I was by her bedside when she passed. The night of my housewarming party (October 17th) was the last time that I saw her. She had made cookies for my party, and the night of the housewarming party, I was still on my “no desserts” kick. Let’s just say that after coming home from the hospital on October 19th, I proceeded to eat one of her cookies that thankfully had been leftover.

4. I had a business trip to California the weekend after Francesca passed away (she passed away on Monday the 19th, I flew out Sunday the 25th). I didn’t want to go. It ended up being a horrible trip, partly because I just wanted to be at home with my fiancé, cats, family, and friends. I was in no mood to be flying cross country.

5. I graduated with my first Master’s on Halloween day (of all days to graduate).

6. I had rehearsal for a play (that I was coerced into performing in) almost daily from the first of November until the performance, which was this past Sunday. Not to mention school, and work, and wedding planning.

7. I don’t like the number 6 very much, so I had to come up with a number 7.

I know, I know…during all of these activities, when did I find time to exercise? When did I find time to eat healthful foods? Honestly, I didn’t. Not to mention the fact that after the passing of Francesca, I totally gave up on not eating desserts. When you all of a sudden burst into tears because you miss your friend, chocolate is really the only thing that can make you feel better.

That being said, I have not given up. Sure, it’s a bit less than 6 months before the wedding. Sure, that’s not much time at all; however, I am going to do the best that I can do given the remaining time before the wedding. Today, for instance, I am fasting. Well, I am “juice fasting”. Instead of eating food, I am simply drinking juice. Now, is that something that I would necessarily recommend? No…but if you saw and heard about what I ate yesterday, you’d probably tell me that not eating for a week would really be best.

So, what have I learned in the past month or two? Life happens. All of our best efforts can be thwarted by what is thrown at us in life. Stay strong. Live like tomorrow is your last, because it might be your last. And you know what? If you “cheat” and have a chocolate bar, don’t feel bad for doing so. If tomorrow came, and you were gone from this world, you’d really be glad that for one last time you ate something that you enjoy eating. I don’t know about you, but if my last meal on earth were a rice cake…let’s just say that I’d be very upset with myself.