New week!

 I'm so excited! As of today I weight 204.8! That’s over 2 pounds lost since last week! The only thing I did differently this past week was not work out lol. Yup, that's it. I ate and drank (it was my birthday week…I had to go out often lol) but I started working out during the weekend again. Taking breaks are great but you have to put a time limit on it! I did it only for 5 days but I was anxious the whole time lol.

I’m back to my hour long Zumba dancing and will start mixing it up by doing a walk/jog 2 -3 times a week starting this weekend. I've been hesitant in running since one of my knees swelled up last year but I figure I'll take it easy and see how my body responds.

As far as diet, I’m back to eating better this week (at least better than last week lol) but still nowhere near my goal of healthy eating. I am a foodie. I live for good, albeit fatty at times, food. This will be my lifetime struggle. My life goal is to curb it and eat all I want in moderation. This is where my workouts come in. I would rather run 2 hours and enjoy my pizza lol. I have noticed that I’m doing well in just eating half my meal when I go out. Whenever possible I share!

Let’s see what life brings this next week! Wish me luck! J

 Asics Gel-Neo33 High-Performance Running Shoes - Men (Google Affiliate Ad)

2013 - Battle of the Bulge continued!

Wow I can't believe it's been a year since I last blogged about my weight! It's amazing how time flies and nothing changes LOL.

The dreaded scale at work!

The battle of the bulge continues for me. I have gained and lost the same 5-10 pounds now for the past year. However, I stopped working out last April 2012 after my knee became inflamed due to my running. So I gave my knee some time off and now I know I'm ready to get back on top!

I started Zumba dancing at home (along with an occasional Just Dance 4 "Just Sweat" session lol) on my WII to get started and have lost a few inches and a couple pounds since doing this 45 days ago! Woohoo!

What has helped me get started is joining (and creating) the Biggest Loser campaign at work. It has been fun getting back into the swing of things and I'm constantly sending out tips and encouragement to all my team members! So far I rank in 4th - 5th place of weight loss but have long way to go lol.

I left off in 2012 at 197 I believe and now (after drinking and eating for the past week due to my birthday) I am now at 207.2. My diet in the evenings has somewhat improved thanks to my bf who is also working on losing weight and my coworker (and cousin) who also is working on losing weight. I have cut down significantly on soda's again and hope to keep chipping at it until it's completely gone. I'm down to 1 - 2 a week right now :/

Pumped and ready to begin again :)

Week 12 - Weigh in - same

At 200.8 now

Ok so I stayed the same (well gained some ounces) last week. No bueno! It's like 199 is teasing me and is trying to deny me entry LOL. Darn you 200! I shall conquer you haha. Ok enough of the dramatics, I only have myself (and my roomie shhh) to blame for the lack of movement. 

I did run daily but instead of eating first and running I swapped it out all last week and ate out with my roomie nearly nightly. That did hurt me. We've been going out due to a working fridge but I took advantage and chose every fatty food nightly lol. I'm not doing that this week. I'm back to eating better but I still feel sluggish.

I felt sluggish last couple days too. I did half my workout (less then 2 miles) by taking my bf's son out for a walk/run and I took yesterday off and I feel it. After my initial resistance the run felt great today. I even raced some chippy who was trying to pass me. Don't you know you can't pass me if you run at my speed?? I always pass em. 

So the plan for this week is activity, activity and more activity! We have a video shoot I will be working on for my company so I will be on my feet for next week. Active week here I come! I may need a massage on Monday when it's all over LOL.

Runner's high!

My running is definitely steady now. I have a really good pace going. Call it a runner's high or something but I'm enjoying it and it really does relax you. I'm sleeping earlier and deeper these days. It might be the weight loss too lol. Joining the Biggest Loser with my friends was the best thing for me. I won't miss when its over in a month but I'm grateful for it because it got me off my butt!

Roasted Nut Crunch bar - Nature's Valley

I'm now starting to work on my diet a little more. Adding a dash of cinnamon to my plain oatmeal in the mornings (gives it a bit of flavor) and eating lighter lunches with a mixture of veggies, brown rice and tuna. Don't know why I love that combination but its so good! 


I'm also working on my snacks. Found these Nature's Valley's bars that are soooooo good and have 6 grams of protein each! Check them out. You'll love them too! I try to always have a banana to snack on every other day at least since they help me not cramp up when I'm running.


I can run 4 miles now! So proud of me!
Here's last nights run stats via my Twitter @chasincaroline feed:
just ran 4.2 mi in 45 mins 29 secs and burned 633 calories. Total burned so far: 11707 calories! on 3/7/12 at 5:11 PM #cardiotrainer

Week 9 - Weigh in - :(

Easy to lose!

 OK it was not as bad as I thought only ½ a pound gained (enough to bump me up back to a low 205) but I had hoped to break even. My week was not at all as active as I had hoped. I went out more during the week than I hadn't planned for. This means that I had to cut my workout in half so I could make my plans on time. Plus in the end I didn't pack my running shoes in my suitcase to Big Bear vacation, thinking there would be snow on the ground; I should have listened to my instincts lol.

I did manage to walk 2 -3 miles both mornings but it wasn’t the same. You don’t sweat when you walk. And you can’t go fast in boots. But I was trying to save space and not bring extra items. I should of ignored me…next time! However, I was able to control myself on the trip. I had nachos and chips and dip the first night and a few shots of tequila (no sugared drinks!) and the second night I only ate 2 slices of a mushroom and tomato pizza. I also only had a few tequila shots and a few straight whiskey on the rocks as my drink of choice. All good choices! Normally I would have pigged out and drank vodka/soda water all night lol. Plus it helped that I don’t like cake since we celebrated my bf’s birthday this weekend with a cake for him lol.

Ok so other than missing my running shoes I did great this vacation. I know I can lose the slight weight gain easily this week. Back to eating simple toast or oatmeal for breakfast, with light lunches and dinners this week! And of course…run…run..run!! J

Weigh in - Week 7 - lost a pound!

  I’m excited at my progress! Lost another pound…even while traveling! Very pleased and was excited when I weighed myself midweek and found I had lost 2 more pounds lol (204!) but I know it will be short lived because we fluctuate daily (official weigh in is Sunday’s) but I’m happy to see that now my fluctuating weight is now 204 – 208. Nothing worse than seeing during the week that you gained 5 pounds lol! Right?

I’ve managed to maintain my running workout momentum. I’m even up to 3.3 miles of straight running @ 53 minutes now! So cool! Last night I was punished for eating greasy food. I ate 1 ½ pupusa..I so didn’t need the 2^nd one..was so full! The next time I do opt for one will be cheese only, the mixed with bacon one hit me hard and I lived in the bathroom for a long time. It even affected my nightly workout. I was already feeling cold, sleepy and tired so adding the “need” to go to the bathroom didn’t help. I ended up only walking 2 miles and came home. No running for me!

I think I’m back to west coast time zone, I had forced myself to stay awake most of these nights until 11 – midnight to force myself into our time zone or I would be sleeping by 8pm nightly lol. I guess it’s not a bad thing but it does affect me on weekends because I’m wide awake by 6am LOL!

I’m looking forward to a calm and relaxing weekend…no traveling..and do plan on enjoying good food and company. I will not drink. No plans until next weekend (vacation at Big Bear Mountains) but I hope to keep that within reason lol.

Hope I weigh in at a low 205 Sunday J So close to being back under the 200’s!! 

Did fantastic on my trip! Kept fit!

I am so proud of myself. Not only did I manage to work out every day (except first day - all day flying!) and managed to eat pretty good. I only had pizza one night but kept it whole grain crust and individually sized so it wasn't very big. I also planned ahead and ate then worked out most nights. That really helped.

I also took my vitamins and Fish oil daily and drank a lot of water. So excited that I can keep fit and travel because that has always been my obstacle. I tend to get in the mindset that when I'm traveling for work, I can eat and eat and not work out. Yes I stand most of the day at the booth assisting people and we have a long 10 - 15 minute daily walk to/from parking lot so we are active all day but I don't see how this equals heavy fatty meals, alcohol, soda's with no workouts?? I'm glad I changed my thinking and kept active!

I'm now looking forward to my upcoming business trips! I also downloaded a couple apps on my Android I'm testing out to track my workouts and caloric intakes. Testing out Noom and Shape up. Liking that Noom will

  Jeanette Hernandez @ChasinCaroline

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just ran 2.2 mi in 42 mins 9 secs and burned 346 calories. Total burned so far: 1540 calories! on 2/10/12 at 8:24 PM #cardiotrainer

I love fries..good for diet??

Our idea of portion control - leave 1 of each behind LOL

   



  Ok, why is it so hard not to eat fries? I've actually done pretty good at limiting my meals these days since you can eat most things with moderation but what about fries? Why are they sooo good? It's the only real fried food my bf likes, its one of the few fried foods my bff likes as well so between them I've eaten fries at least 5 times since last week LOL. I've been good with it though. I only eat enough to satisfy my craving since they ordered but I don't know how this will help with the "NEW ME" lol.

For instance check out today's lunch. We split a garden burger but then had small order of fries (yes small order) but we also added it's cousin, the fried Zucchini! Another evil in itself. A veggie gone wrong LOL.

Anybody else, have a good solution to saying no to fries? I didn't run/walk yesterday but will tonight and in all fairness it's only Tuesday. I worked out and was super active all weekend so I don't feel guilty but today's fries can't be good LOL.

I guess I better eat a healthy dinner and forget about it.

However, I have 5 dinner/drink events starting Wednesday - Sunday. Then I travel all next week. I'm so scared! This is when I go bad! I'm going to have to switch to morning runs for the week to stay on top of it because between all the birthdays, work functions, farewell party and THE SUPERBOWL..I'm going to hurt.

Wish me luck, send me advice or alternatives..I'm going to need them! Ok back to work I go now LOL.

Week 4 - slump - New shoes!

Food hasn't been so bad but not healthy. My heaviest meals were all on Sunday so that's not bad. I've lighted up since then. 

My new running shoes!

However, I haven't been able to really power walk/run since Sunday!. I walked a mile + with my roomie but we went to go eat Mexican. Not healthy but I kept it limited.

The point of this walk, was so I could get a knee brace at CVS so I can stabilize my knee when I work out. I haven't been able to try it but will tonight.

Then last night I did not work out because I went straight to LensCrafter's for new glasses and to get new running shows. So there went my night. 

I am planning on doing my run/walk for next solid week so at least it's scheduled in.

It really does help me that on weekends I'm able to continue my daily walk/runs in the morning. I feel energized for the day!

I'm excited to test out my new shoes (Dr. Scholl's - didn't know they made shoes!). Supposed to be good impact resistant shoes. Felt great putting them on. Plus will wear my new Knee brace. 

I forgot to pick up vitamins and Omega 3 (fish oil) vitamins while I was at CVS this week but will do so this weekend. All this will help me reduce or eliminate my knee pain.

Week 4 - Weigh In

Date: 1/22/2012 
Weight: 208!
Activity: Walk & Jog


Rough week but I lost 1 pound! My nutrition was horrible. I didn't eat very healthy but I continued and actually increased my workouts! I finally ran for 2 straight miles! That was so cool and happy that I was finally there but since doing so on Friday I haven't been able to repeat lol. My shoes are horribly worn down and I felt it that night and the rest of the weekend on my knees. They ached all night. Felt like I even had water in my knee. Can that happen with bad shoes?


Needless to say, I'm getting new running shoes this week LOL. I did manage to walk briskly both Sat. and Sun. so at least I was able to stay active. 


However, I'm still having issues accepting that I have to eat better. I ate heavy starches most of the week. The only thing that helped me was that I've increased my walk to 2 miles for the most part. 


The best part of all this though is that I'm finally seeing the weight loss on my waist. My Patriots Jersey I wore today was not as tight as it has been lately :) I'm just excited to see the beginnings of tangible results!

Week 3 going great!

I am back to a full hour of cardio! I didn't run but I did 2 miles of power walking today. I really wasn't physically in the mood (felt run down & sleepy) to run but the fast walk felt great. I did see all the runners pass me and it did tempt me but I know if I had run after them it would have been a sprint and I'd be back to walking in a minute LOL. In due time right?

I weighed myself today and I'm still 209. I thought I might of gained since I ate bad dinners the past 2 nights but I guess it wasn't as bad as I thought. I'm worried that it's going to rain at the end of the week. I walk around the park so how am I going to work out when it's raining? hmmm...looks like it may be a "Just Dance 3" weekend LOL.

Week 3 - Weigh in

Date: 1/8/2012 
Weight: 209 :)
Activity up to this date: light bike/walk/jog/dance
Activity this week: Walk/jog/dance


Had awesome week! I lost 3 pounds. The 2 I had gained plus an extra one! I'm excited! Finally. It's been my 3rd week now no soda now, still sad about that lol. Between that and my daily walking, I'm pretty sure that contributed to my weight loss. I'm taking my walking up a notch this week. I'm going from 1 mile (1 walk around the park) to 2 miles! I still want to increase my speed. As I'm walking I have to keep reminding myself to speed up because I tend to get sucked into my music and stroll lol. No strolling! 


My roomie has managed to walk with me half the time...pretty good for her. She's not the most active person I know so that achievement is pretty good for her. It helped her lose 4 pounds this week. That and not eating as much LOL. We both ate less and better this week although I still had a lot of tortillas with my meals so the nutrition part of my overall change of life is less than satisfactory but better than 2011 already!


We did have a party this weekend and danced a lot on saturday. I dance most of the night and made sure to stay active. I also limited my alcohol intake to just Tequila shots so I didn't load up on juices and soda drinks as is my norm. I do plan on having some of these cocktails this AFC championship Sunday (go Patriots :)) but I'll make sure to work out ahead of time! I did do that this weekend, even Sunday, even though I was very tired, I still managed to do a brisk walk to continue my routine. 


Not only is weight loss a goal in 2012 for me but so is constant activity. I was too stationary in 2011 and I'm not going back! :)

Week 2 going great!

I've been able to continue my jog/walk. I'm up to half of each now. Big step! That is 1/2 mile each :) My diet has been really good this week. Between my change in diet, no soda and steady walk/jogs I've already lost the 2 bloated pounds I gained lol. I'll know officially Sunday at weigh in if my weight loss stuck since I know it can fluctuate depending on time and day etc.

Either way, weight loss success!! Another big step! :)

My new bike decal - my blog name!

Week 2 continues

Week 2 is starting off slow. Nutrition wise I'm doing better than last week already but still had leftover nachos for dinner last night LOL. So I guess I still have more work to do on my diet haha.

Our mile walk around the park has now officially become a daily routine. We have it down in 1/2 hour. I told my roomie that next week we are circling the park twice plus I'm trying to increase the speed so we are not just strolling. I'll never lose any weight with a stroll around the park lol.

Still craving a soda. Really, really want a coke. Why can't I have just a little sip?? LOL. I'll leave it out of my diet for a while but it haunts me. I really do loooove a good Coke. It's so hard to ignore!

OK, let's see how the rest of the week shapes up. I want to make sure I eat well and work out all week because I have a birthday party this Saturday and I'd like to enjoy it:) I'm hoping for a homemade burger and a few drinks haha.

(Graphic from Google images) Mmmmmm Coke......

New Year. New me!

Date: 1/1/2012
Weight: 211 (yikes!)


Activity up to this date: none
Activity this week: biking (few minutes), walking, brisk walking and finally I ran! Only for a fraction of a mile but it's a start :)

2012 is going to be my year! I'm planning on becoming as active physically as I used to be. It's been such a struggle to even become motivated to do this but I'm already feeling a better and I've only been working out for 1 week LOL.

Diet has not improved at all this week. Still had a lot of starches and fried foods but I got rid of sodas haha. That is a big deal for me! Let's see how long I can go before I cave. I gave up soda once for 2 years right before I moved away from Boston but a year into LA living (2 years total) I got sucked into "my first one" LOL. They said it's only 1 soda...no big deal....it's big for me!

Ok well, Operation Get Moving has begun. Wish me luck!