162 lbs. 

down 35 lbs. from start 

22 lbs. to my goal 

So I have returned from my lovely vacation! I had a great time with great people! I could go on and on about it, but I'm sick so I don't have the energy and I don't want to bore you. 

Luckily, I didn't gain 10 pounds. The only exercise we did while we were gone was water aerobics. It was easy but I'm glad I got off my butt and did something and it was hilarious watching Phil and Josh do it with us. lol. 

Now that I'm home.. I'm sick. Yesterday, I had a headache and sort of felt like I was coming down with something. Then, I got hungry and decided to binge on some cookie dough. I literally ate a half a sleeve of raw cookie dough while my mom and Phil were both telling me how bad that is. I've heard that before, just like everyone else in the world. But I have never gotten sick off of it. Well, about an hour later, my tummy started to hurt. It just got worse and worse through out the night. I couldn't even fall asleep. It was the worse stomach ache I have ever had. And perhaps this is TMI but I had diarrhea as well. Now, almost 24 hours later, I feel weak and have chills. I'm not sure what is wrong with me. I feel like I was getting sick and in the middle of my sickness, I got food poisoning. I am really not sure though. 

I'm missing our workout with Jeff tonight. I just feel too weak. I went on a 15 minute walk with Buzz and felt dead afterwards. 

I just wanted to give you a quick update on my life. I have not gained or lost any weight. I'm 2 lbs. away from losing the DietBet. I need to get back into training asap. I start my new job in like a week and a half. And that's all I have to say. :) 

Good night! 

Melissa 

162 lbs.

down 35 lbs. from start

22 lbs. to my goal

 

So we did our re-evaluation with Jeff yesterday. I had lost about 4 pounds in a little over a month. My body fat percent stayed the same. And I actually did see some changes in my measurements. I lost an 1.5 inches in my hips. I also lost a tad in my arms, thighs and waist but the hips were most significant.  That was interesting just because I never really seem to see a difference in my measurements when I do them myself. I would like to see my body fat percent go down next time. Phil is doing awesome though! He has lost about 9 pounds this last month. If he just puts a little bit of effort into working out and eating right, he will lose so quickly. I'm proud of him. I never thought he'd join me in trying to get healthy and lose weight.

 

I'm still 3 pounds away from where I want to be when I leave for vacation. And that's in 4 days! It's a long shot, but I'm going to try not to go crazy this weekend while we are on our float trip. Phil's step mom was talking to me about what to bring and asked me to make brownies. I told her that I didn't want the brownies and I'm bringing a watermelon instead. I have really been craving a nasty dinner though. I just want a big juicy burger and fries! I'm sure it'll happen at some point this weekend. I can't deprive myself forever. I get crabby. lol.

 

I ordered a VS swimsuit top online and just got it yesterday. Why are their Large swimsuits not large?! It fits me. But barely. I just wish the triangles covered more. I still plan on bringing it on vacation and wearing it. But it needs to be just a tinnnny bit bigger and I'd love it.

 

Today is my last day at Metlife... ever!! It's crazy. It doesn't feel like my last day. This has been my job for the last 5 years. I feel like I'm just going on vacation and I will be back. I'm not sure when reality will really hit  me.

 

Well, I guess I'm going to do a little bit of work today. lol.

 

See ya!

Melissa

162 lbs.

down 35 lbs. from start

22 lbs. to my goal

 

So I have been trying to cut out carbs lately. Obviously some sneak in, because there are carbs in everything. But I haven't been having bread or potatoes in quite a few days. Hopefully this will help me jump start some weight loss. Jeff says it will. I have started eating sweet potatoes! They are supposed to be really good for you. I actually sort of like them so that is a good thing! I'm hoping that I can hit 159 lbs by Monday! I'm not so sure it will happen, but I'm going to try. I'm going to try to go shopping today and go to zumba. I skipped my workout yesterday. I have to go today. I'll have to convince Phil to go workout with me on Friday too since we will be on a float trip the rest of the weekend.

 

So I start my new job on July 8th. I already put my two weeks in at MetLife so I will get a little time off. That's good though. I need to get some things done. I have to get my car door/window fixed. I have to use my own car for this job and it's not going to work out if one of my rear doors isn't working. Then, I want to get my car all cleaned out! I want it spotless! I love having a clean car but it rarely ever is.

 

Oh, something else happened! I got called back for a 2nd interview with Castlewood Treatment Center. I'm very honored that they called me back. I wish the food thing wasn't an issue. If that wasn't a factor, I would pursue it for sure. But I honestly don't think I can force myself to eat foods that I don't like 40 hours a week. It makes me kind of sad. I sense that I probably could have made a little more money at this place. And I think I would have enjoyed it too. But I'm happy to work with St. Louis Arc. I think it will be a good starting point and perhaps in a year or so, I can try to move elsewhere and get some different experience.

 

So over the last week, I have had at least two people notice my weight loss. And when I say that, I mean these are people that I don't see or talk to often that didn't even know I was trying to lose weight. Those are the ones that make me happy. Because at least half of the time, if people know you are trying to lose weight, they are like "are you losing weight? you can tell." No, you can't. I'm trying, but I haven't lost anything yet, ya doofus. lol. I just feel like a lot of the time people are just trying to be nice by telling you that they can tell. But I had two people say something that did not know I had been trying. That's a horray for me! I feel like I'm just now starting to notice myself that I am actually smaller. I don't feel at all where I want to be, but I feel better. I fit very comfortably into medium size t-shirts now. I'm honestly tempted to try on a small, because my new medium ones are almost big. I want to fit in smaller size pants too! That has yet to really happen yet. Some day... lol.

 

Well, I'm gonna get to work. Only 3 days left at MetLife! 6 more days till vacation!

 

See ya!

Melissa

162 lbs.

down 35 lbs. from start

22 lbs. to my goal

So I am losing! Over the weekend, the scale actually read 160.7 lbs!! But I'm waiting to log that. I ate really well all weekend until Sunday. I didn't do absolutely terrible, but I didn't do good so I think I'll have to make up for it today. But I am confident that I may actually reach the 150s by our trip! I just hope that I can maintain it while on vacation!

On another note, I got the job!! I will be a Direct Support Professional in the Day Program at St. Louis ARC. I'm super excited! It's going to be a totally new experience for me. I put in my two weeks at my job today. I cried. I knew I would. I have been here for 5 years. It's going to be so scary leaving. I can only hope that I am making the right decision. My manager hugged me and told me how proud she was of me. It made me feel better. I don't know when my exact starting date is yet. I will find out today I believe.

Chelsea, Riley, Phil and I at YWCA's Walk a Mile in Her Shoes.

Phil and I at Graffiti Run

 

Our walks this weekend were awesome! I don't have much to say about them. Watching 100+ men attempt to talk in heels was absolutely hilarious! But it was so moving. It was really a beautiful thing and I'm so glad that Phil is so willing to participate in such events. It makes me love him 100 times more! The Graffiti Run turned out great as well. We were with lots of friends and family and the weather was amazing!

 

Life is good right now. :)

Vacation in 8 days!!

See ya!

Melissa

163 lbs.

down 34 lbs. from start

23 lbs. to my goal

Yay! I told you I would start losing again soon! The scale actually read 162.5 lbs this morning, but I'm not recording that quite yet. I think you need those plateaus and times where you are lazy, food and exercise wise. Your body sometimes needs some time to rest and adjust and make your new weight the "normal" weight for you. Then, once it's all regulated, you can go hard again and lose some more. This is just my theory, but it works for me. lol.

 

So we worked out with Jeff last night and talked about foods. Jeff is starting to give me a lot of crap about the stuff I eat. I'm telling you, it is SO hard for me to eat healthy with my darn pickiness. He told me "no more chef boyardi... lunchables... baked potatoes..." Is he crazy? I'm going to die of starvation! lol. We also talked about working hard for vacation and he said that if we really want to lose weight fast to cut out all carbs. (He said he would only have us do this for a short period of time though.) This is unrealistic for me. But I'm going to try to keep the carbs to a minimum, at least for the next week or so. We'll see. I'm going to try to eat lots of protein and veggies. This weekend is here and that usually means eating out and ruining everything I did during the week. I'm going to try really hard to not let that happen this time.

 

Tomorrow, Phil, my friend Chelsea and her boyfriend Riley are participating in YWCA's Walk a Mile in Her Shoes. It is a one mile walk to show support for ending sexual violence. Phil and Riley will be sporting red pumps for this walk. I'm so excited! Chelsea and I participated in SlutWalk last year, but we really wanted to get the guys involved. I hope to see a lot of people out there supporting this cause. :)

 

Sunday, we have our Graffiti Run. This will be my first 5k! We won't be running, because we are going with a large group of people including many that don't run. Now, I sort of wish I could attempt to run it. I can only run 1 mile on the treadmill so it'd be super hard and I'd be slow but I want to push myself. It's fine that we are walking this one. My next one will be hard.. The Dirty Girl Mud Run in September. I'm going with Ashley and Angelina who have done other 5ks and are pretty athletic. I'm scared for that one.

 

Today is the day that I talk to the coordinator at St. Louis Arc. Ughh. I'm so nervous. I better freaking find something out today. I will die if this ends up only being an interview and I don't know if I got a position or not. And that is totally possible. I may be super depressed the next time I write. We'll see...

 

See ya!

Melissa

164 lbs.

down 33 lbs. from start

24 lbs. to my goal

Ahhh! I'm so anxious!! So one of my best friends and coworker Chelsea also applied to work at St. Louis Arc. She had an interview the day after me. She told me how hers went and it just made me more anxious for Friday! When she went, she said the lady told her that the day program position was no longer available. However, she wants Chelsea to speak to the residential person on Friday to determine her experience. She also told her that if the residential person doesn't think she has the experience, she still has a place for her and after Friday, she will be able to give her a job offer. They didn't tell me that! However, no one interviewed in between Chelsea and I. And she talked to me about the day program as if it was still open. So am I the one she is considering to take that spot? Ahhhh I wish I really knew! I'm trying not to get my hopes up. But I'm hating my job so much right now and I would love to be able to put in my two weeks really soon! I really hope that I know on Friday! I don't want to meet with this person and still have to wait even more! I'm going crazy right now....

On another note, I've been working out everyday and been eating pretty well, staying within my calories. The scale read 163.8 this morning. I'm not logging it yet. But I can tell that I'll probably be dropping a pound or two pretty soon. Hopefully in time for the Dominican! Only 13 more days!!!

ANXIETYYYYYY.

See ya! 

Melissa

PS. I got my butt to run a mile again on the treadmill last night. I did it in 10 min. I consider that a success. :) 

164 lbs.

down 33 lbs. from start

24 lbs. to my goal

 

Not much has changed yet, but I have a feeling that it will soon! We went grocery shopping last night and I'm ready to eat right again! I realized it's been about a month since I've lost much, if anything, at all. That is not OK. I've been putting in the time at the gym, but I haven't been eating right. I have to learn to plan my meals out on the weekend as well. That's usually my downfall. In order to win my DietBet, I need to be 160 lbs by July 1st. I would really like to be in the 150s in 2 weeks for vacation. So 2 lbs a week... we'll see!

 

So my job has been kind of sucky lately. We have been super understaffed so I've basically had to fill in as a rep taking calls 40 hours a week. It's such a burnout job. I'm over it. So it inspired me to apply for social service jobs. That's what I went to school for and that's my passion. Problem is, social services doesn't pay crap, and I'll have to start at the bottom and gain some experience to even come close to making a decent wage. I had two interviews in the last week. The first was at Castlewood Treatment Center as a Direct Care staff member. The place is for people with eating disorders. I would love the job. The place is beautiful!!

The downside would be that since it is for eating disorders, I would eat breakfast and lunch with the patients. And I would eat what the cook prepares and am expected to eat 100% of my meal most days. Problem is, I'm SO picky! It would probably be good for me to force myself to eat it. But I honestly don't think I could. I would love the job besides that.

I had another interview at St. Louis Arc which is a place for people with developmental disabilities. I applied to be a Direct Support Professional. Preferably, I would like to work in the Day Program there. I would basically take people to participate in the community. This could mean going to the park, volunteering at an animal shelter, etc. I think I would love it! The other option is to do the same job but in the Residential section which would mean doctor appointments, making sure they get their medicine and then also potentially assisting with showering and other care. Obviously the Day Program will be more rewarding. I would get to help them explore their interests and get involved! My interview went well and I am supposed to meet with two coordinators from two of their locations later this week. The only downside to this job is that it will pay HALF of what I make now... That is really crappy. But if I will be happier and gain the experience I need, I think hope  it will be worth it in the long run.

I'll let ya know how things go as soon as I know! Cross your fingers for me!

See ya!

Melissa