AMANDA HAS ARRIVED

What what!!!!!!!!!!

You asked and we delivered. I’ve got my own blog! I won’t be an everyday-er, but I’ll post often. Not only is it fun for me, but, hopefully, I’ll help or inspire others in the process. Or at least I’ll give you a giggle. Like Jen, I keep it real, which makes us a good team.


In case you haven’t read my guest blogs before, I’m Amanda, another priorfatgirl. I began Weight Watchers in May 2008, and I’ve lost about 57 pounds. I would like to lose 23 more pounds, which will put me smack dab in the center of the healthy BMI range for my height. Also, I’m a libra, a lacto-ovo vegetarian, and a pretty cool human. You can check out my guest-blog debut for more of a backstory.

I wish I could say that I’ve made substantial progress in Jen and Annabel’s Challenge, but that’s not really the case. Well, weight-wise I haven’t made progress (still 8ish pounds away from my goal — eek!), but healthy-behaviors–wise I’m making positive changes! That’s more important than the silly number anyway, right?

I’ve been tracking all my food, which opened my eyes to how much I thought I was staying within my POINTS allowance during my break from tracking. I wasn’t. But I am now! Here’s my info from a random day last week (POINTS in parentheses):

Breakfast:
1 large banana (2)
1 VitaMuffin VitaTop (1)

Snack:
1 Dannon Light & Fit yogurt (2)

Lunch:
1 salad (5.5)
Romaine lettuce (0)
Spinach (0)
5 cherry tomatoes (0)
1/2 cup peas (0.5)
Red onion (0)
1.5 Tbsp black olives (0.5)
1 hard-boiled egg (2)
1/4 cup chickpeas (0.5)
2 tbsp sunflower seeds (2)
1.5 Tbsp fat-free French dressing (0.5)
1/2 cup cottage cheese (2.5)

Snack:
1 Fiber One bar (2)

Dinner:
2 slices reduced-calorie bread (1)
1 Morningstar Farms Asian veggie patty (2)
10 baby dill pickles (1)
Tortilla chips (3)
Salsa (0)

Snack:
6.5 cups 94% fat-free popcorn (1.5)

TOTAL = 24 POINTS

I get 24 POINTS per day, so yay me! I stay on track by entering my meals and snacks before I eat them. That way, I know I’m not going overboard, but also I can see if I’m getting the daily nutrition my body requires. I also track how much water I’m drinking. During the week, drinking water is not a problem, but I reeeeeaally need to work on the weekend water. Tracking really does help.

As for exercise and activity, I’ve been surprising myself. My Tuesday-night softball games have been so fun! On Wednesdays I can feel that my calves and quads were worked, and I always like that feeling. But what REALLY surprised me last week was that I woke up more than an hour early one day last week, and I just could not get back to sleep … so I went for a run. That’s pretty crazy for me, but I loved it! Now I plan to do that a couple of times a week — on purpose :) I’ve done an on-purpose run once since the first occurrence, and there are no signs of stopping.

Alright, so I’m keeping my first post on my VERY OWN blog (!!!!) short and sweet. Always leave them wanting more, right? But I will leave you with a question. Is there anything in particular you’d like to know about me and my weight-loss journey? My previous guest posts were kind of all over the place because I was blogging so sporadically. I never really found my footing, but this is my chance to do so. Comments and suggestions are more than welcome. I love them!

Here’s to a fab new endeavor :)