Ms. Hodge's Adventures in Fitness and Finance

Sporadic Update!

2010-07-15T12:25:00.001-05:00

So... I don't think anyone reads this, but if you do: sorry! I've been a terrible blogger!

Right now I'm currently fighting (tooth, nail and claw) to get out of the 180's! I was 180 today and for the past 3 days. I cannot wait to see a seven as that middle number! :) :) :)

Onederland!

2010-04-10T14:14:00.002-05:00

Sorry I've been MIA lately! I just wanted to blog in excitement because today the scale read

198lbs!

I'm so excited!

Progress!

2009-12-16T20:46:00.002-06:00

I've weighed in at 212.5 today! I think it might actually be up a little tomorrow since I had kind of a big/salty supper. :P

The goal of being at/under 200 lbs is totally unattainable. But that's ok, I'm very pleased that I've been losing weight consistently for the month of December. A big help is a Biggest Loser challenge on the 3 Fat Chicks forum that I'm participating in. Very encouraging to be a member of a team and striving for a goal (it helps that I'm suuuuper competitive!)

I got a cute new blog layout that I'm lovin'. :) Hopefully it'll inspire me to blog more often!

Also, I need to start living up to the name of my own blog!!! I've posted pretty much entirely about fitness and dieting and pretty much NOTHIN' about finance! I've been finding great deals online for the holiday season and I've made a little money online from various stuff over the past several months, so I will start writing about that a bit more!

Waffling Along

2009-11-25T02:14:00.002-06:00

I don't really know what's up with me, weight loss wise! I've been just sticking in the 219.5 range.

On one hand it is really annoying to not lose weight.

On the other hand, I know that I'm not giving it 100% of my effort (and it is dumb to half ass it!).

And I'm the lowest I've been in, LITERALLY, years!

But I am setting the (very lofty, probably unattainable) goal of being under 200 lbs by New Years.

Time to get my ass in gear!

Update!

2009-11-08T01:08:00.002-06:00

I have not updated for a while! Luckily it's not because I fell off the wagon or anything -- this morning I weighed in at 221, the least I've weighed in years! I seriously cannot wait to be in the 100's again! It seems SO close yet SO far at the same time!

I really suck at drinking water, though, which is something I think I really need to improve on. :(

Discouraging? Nah!

2009-10-29T18:11:00.003-05:00

Today had all the makings of a potentially discouraging day. I weighed in at 224, whereas yesterday I was 223.5. I think it may have had to do with the very low calories I ate yesterday. I just couldn't get myself to eat more calories just for the sake of eating when I really wasn't hungry. Or maybe it was from hormones? Too much salt? I'm not sure!

In addition to that, I measured myself and, with the exception of my thighs, they were all bigger than my previous measurements, which, OK, had been taken back on June 15th and were not exactly accurate. lol

It really could have been a discouraging day, but I just kind of pushed it aside. After all, what are my options? Keep forging ahead or give up and binge on some junk food and then have to work towards getting back to this point!

Crap!

2009-10-28T20:19:00.002-05:00

It is about 8:20PM. I don't eat anything after 9PM. I've eaten just under 1000 calories for today and should eat more, but I'm just not hungry.

I don't want to eat just to eat -- that's not going to help me in the long run as I want to learn to eat only when I'm hungry, not when I'm bored or whatever.

At the same time, though, I don't want to potentially do damage or stall weight loss by eating way too few calories, ya know?

What to do, what to do?

Counting Calories...

2009-10-27T18:54:00.003-05:00

...SUCKS but it also works!

I've got a big spreadsheet opened up all the time and just type what I eat into it. It is for a week at a time, I figure I can make a new sheet for each new week (yes, I am a nerd!).

Really, my only complaint with counting calories is that it is hard to know what some foods are! For example, my mom made a delicious spice/pumpkin cake tonight and covered it with some cream cheese frosting. I ate a bite and have no idea what the calorie count for that would be! So I just estimate, hopefully high.

I'm doing pretty well with my goals for the week. The hardest one, for some reason, is drinking water. I end up waiting until it's pretty late to drink it, which of course results in me having to get up during the night to pee!

I have been sick this week, too, which really zapped me for any and all energy. But I've been doing ok workout wise.

I thought the other day about all the money I've spent on food that I did not need to spend in the last few months. I don't even want to know what it would amount to! Sometimes I'd stop at a fast food restaurant while out and about, or I'd grab a bottle of pop at a store or something. It all adds up and I bet it adds up to A LOT! So I have decided that I'm just not going to do that any more. It is not worth it, nutritionally or financially!

Getting Right

2009-10-24T15:07:00.003-05:00

I am trying to be a little more strict with my eating. I have to be careful, because it seems like the very moment I think of restricting myself, suddenly whatever I can't/shouldn't have is the ONLY thing I can think about.

But I'm watching my calories. And keeping an eye on carbs. And sodium. Sooooo... I guess I'm just trying to eat healthier?

I also need to pick up the working out. Back in the day, I used to always do a few different work outs (some weights, crunches, bicycle crunches, etc) right before bed. Nothing much -- just, like 30 of each. But it was better than nothing, and it's something I want to get back into doing.

So yeah, that is kind of Losing Weight 101, eh?

Some goals for the coming week (10/24-10/30):

Drink at least 64 oz of water each day
Do at least 30 min. of cardio at least 6 days
Do some weight/strength training all 7 days

Going Crazy!

2009-10-10T01:48:00.002-05:00

This time of year is driving me crazy! I go between feeling icky and down because of all the cold, gray and rainy days to feeling revved up and ready to tackle anything when the sun shines and it's beautiful outside!

For some reason I'm still not kicking my ass into gear when it comes to exercising and eating right. This languishing on is stupid! What am I waiting for?

Some Late Night Ponderings

2009-10-07T03:12:00.003-05:00

You know, I was really wondering if it was such a hot idea to combine a blog about making money and losing weight. But, tonight in particular, I'm amazed at how they are intertwined!

I am stressed out tonight about -- what else! -- MONEY. My credit card debt is higher than I'd like (ok, it is still under $1,000 but that feels like a lot to this little miser lol). It's after 3 am and I'm still awake. I know if I was laying in bed I'd be doing just that -- lay in bed AWAKE and wishing I could go to sleep. That makes me tired and sluggish during the day, which means I don't always make the best health choices (choosing to drink some pop to pep me up, too tired to work out, etcetera!). My weight creeps up...

And then my other major stressor -- my beloved horse! Right now I have him in full time training which is not cheap. I have had some trouble riding him, not because he is bad, but because I have become timid after a riding accident. My weight does not help my riding, but rather hinders it. So here I am, pouring out money to have a horse trained that I feel like I'm too fat to ride competently! Oh lawsie, pour me some hot chocolate! lol

So yes, as much as I wish they were not at all related, unfortunately money and weight deeply intertwined in my personal life.

Low on Motivation, Here's my Thinspiration

2009-10-06T19:17:00.003-05:00

*yawn* This weather (cold. rainy. windy.) makes me so tired! Add in the fact that I toss and turn in bed every night, unable to get to sleep and wake up many times each night, and I feel like a walking zombie!

I feel like I've got a ton of stuff to get done and just zero motivation to get it done. Like I'm treading water, or running in sand or something. Yuck!

One way I like to inspire myself and try to kick my ass out of my ruts is to look at people who have been successful -- ESPECIALLY when it comes to losing weight. Before & After pictures are an addiction for me! lol

I see this ad pop up all the time. It is for some bogus quick fix diet scam, and the pictures are most likely stolen, but seeing the drastic difference is still pretty awesome!
And I know the term "thinspiration" is something that is pretty much only by the eating disorder communities, but I think it is kind of clever, so I use it too. lol

Hard Change

2009-10-04T22:36:00.003-05:00

Ugh, this is something that I'm dreading...

I think I need to give up Diet Coke. Somebody hold me, I'm starting to get the chills!

But yeah, every day I drink too much of it (about 32 oz. a day). And it's not cheap, really, let alone healthy!

I get a drink from the gas station every day for about $.75. That's about $22.50 a month and $270 a year! Holy crap!

Plus, I just need to drink more water in its place.

But it's soooo delicious! Damn, this is gonna suck.

This May Seem Odd...

2009-10-04T02:21:00.002-05:00

I realize it might seem very odd to have a blog about fitness and finance -- I mean, what a weird combo, right? I promise, though, this is not some scam blog where I'll try to sell supplements from a berry that no one can pronounce. lol

I'm 23. I'm 5'7" and I weigh 231-ish pounds. Weight loss takes up a huge amount of my mental time. Maybe that is sad, but I do want to become fit, hot and healthy.

I graduated from college a little under a year ago. I've been farting around with my own little business that I run and it's provided fairly well for me. I'm still living at home, so my costs are pretty low. The main drain on my account is my beloved horse. I pay for all of his needs myself and wouldn't have it any other way. Right now he's in full-time training. So money and finances also take a huge amount of mental time!

I'm always looking for new ways to make a few bucks. I'll always be very honest in my recommendations of online money-making venues. To be honest, most of them pay out very little, but hey, a few bucks here and there really adds up!

And I'll also be honest about my weight loss journey. It sucks and it, too, is very slow. lol But it needs to be done! A huge reason I want to get fit is to become a better rider for my horse. A since I'm shelling out so much money for training, that's just extra motivation to lose the weight!