This week has been a busy week. I've been trying to squeeze in as much time with my friend Nanci as possible before she vanishes for an entire week to attend 8th grade cheer came. It takes a strong woman to attend 8th grade cheer came, that's for sure. It seems like I've been much more active in the town where I attended college. It's been great seeing old friends and catching up. To my surprise, every person I ran into told me how much they enjoy reading my blog. Words cannot express my gratitude. This is my confessional and my motivation for all that I do. Knowing that I am going to have to report my shortcomings and binge eating spells to my readers keeps me in line (for the most part- sometimes fat Shannon peeks her fat head up, and there's just no way around it). Thank you for your support and your kind words. For as long as people tell me they enjoy reading my blog, I will continue to update.
Like I said, I've started a new job! Not a new teaching job- Blakely got me a job at the restaurant where he works as a waitress. Before settling at the private school I worked at for the last 3 years of college, I served everywhere in this town. I'm a master of the craft, and I knew that it would bring in a little more money to put toward grad. school and my classroom. I have always told people that I would rummage through trash cans for food rather than ever work in a restaurant again. You know what they say, desperate times call for desperate measures. For the last 3 years, Blakely has come home every night smelling like wing sauce and philly cheese steaks. Now I have the pleasure of basking in the same greasy glory as my honey.
My biggest fear with working in a restaurant is the food. The last serving job I had was at an Applebee's. I gained 18 pounds because someone decided it would be a good idea to leave the fries sitting in front of me with a buffet of dipping sauces for my fat pleasure. Needless to say, I gorged on french fries constantly. I can remember sneaking into the freezer, stealing chocolate mousse desserts, and cramming them down my throat in a hurry while no one was looking. It was pathetically fat and I deserved every single pound I put on my guilty body at that job. My new job is at a chicken wing joint, and every knows my love for all things fried. I can just see myself rolling in wing sauce as I devour endless drumsticks and chase them down with ranch-covered bacon cheddar cheese fries (is it sad that my mouth is watering?). This will be the greatest challenge of my less-fat life. So what's my plan of action, you might be wondering. How will I avoid all the free fried fat and never ending sodas at my fingertips? Here it is, my plan to resist temptation at all costs:
1. Eat before work. I have been working mostly night shifts, so I go in at 4 and get off around 9 or 10. This is smack dap in the middle of second snack and dinner time. Prior to working, I eat a larger snack to carry me through the shift until I can come home and eat dinner. I try to include a fruit or veggie, protein, and a carb of some sort. The other day I made a half of a peanut butter and honey sandwich with an orange. I didn't feel hungry until around 8, and I got off an hour after that. It wasn't too bad. I was able to come home and quickly whip up something for dinner.
2. Limit myself to one non-water drink per shift. I drink water all day everyday. Now that I have access to a soda fountain and tea urn, I find myself craving those things more often. I gave up sodas briefly when I first started losing weight, and now I'll have one or two a week. At work, I can drink whatever I want, whenever I want. The best way I know how to deal with this is to hold tight to my water. I will fill up my to-go cup with lemon water until just before they close down the drink fountain. At the end of the night, I will allow myself ONE cup of tea or soda. I feel like it's the most reasonable way to handle the situation.
3. When eating the food from work, avoid all things fried. There are always healthier options. Fried chicken can be substituted for grilled chicken in every meal on the menu. You can also substitute fries for vegetables or a salad. I don't plan on eating there much because the smell of it has turned me off completely, but when I do, it has to be modified. Luckily, Blakely works in the kitchen, so I don't have to worry about being hassled over my picky eating habits.
Onto other things... I had a friend ask me what iPhone apps I use to manage my weight. Smartphones have contributed a great deal to my weight loss success, and there are 3 apps in particular that I really enjoy using.
This is, hands down, my favorite fitness app. I use Map My Run daily to track my running. It can track any and all exercise that you do. It counts the calories you've burned, the number of steps you taken, and even maps it out for you! This app is available for iPhone and Android users.
This is not an app that I use regularly. If I am having a seriously fat week where I just can't bring myself to stop eating Nutella by the spoonful, then I will start tracking my calories to show myself what a fatty I've been. My Fitness Pal is most commonly used to track calories. It also logs exercises and rewards you with more calories to consume for exercising. It was a huge eye-opener for me to see how many calories I was eating everyday. This app is definitely a must have if you are just starting out! You can also add and track your friends progress if they use the app too! This app is also available for iPhone and Android users.
This app is the jam! There are endless workouts to target anything and everything. Best of all, there are videos to demonstrate each and every exercise they have you do. You can use this app and listen to iTunes or Pandora. Once you begin a workout using the app, a voice over instructs you the entire time. You can pause it if you are unsure of what it's telling you to do and watch a brief tutorial of the exercise.
It's one of my favorites! I'm not sure if this app is open to Android users, but my iPhone friends, you really need this app. It's free!
No comments:
Post a Comment