You've Been Tagged

Hello! I've had an interestingly busy week with family affairs. Guests from out of town (my father's aunt, her daughter and her family), another cousin of mine is having a job scare, last night she cried for hours "my daughter is just 4, how am I gonna take care of her with only my husband's income..." My father did a little asking around today and the situation may not be as bad as my cousin thought at first. And stuff like that. I was talking to mom last night and we both think bad or not so ideal things come in bulk. We will just need to get through our own hell with the finance, lack-of-jobs, and all the rest and there will be light at the end of the tunnel!

About the weekly planning... I did good last week and lost another pound :) But this week started bad. With the guests and oh very horrible eating especially on monday and tuesday. Now I'm working very hard to take it back. For example, yesterday I did The Biggest Loser Last Chance Workout and walked on the treadmill for 40 minutes! That added up to 925 calories burned in one day! I am sore obviously so only walking for today. Tomorrow I wanna have a similar workout session as yesterday. I had to rest for four days around the weekend because of my knees. But hopefully I won't have to for a while and promised myself to walk at least 45 minutes every single day. I really really really want to see a loss next monday too. Well I wanna see a loss every monday till I'm on target!

(UPDATE: Before I finished this post my mom called me and told me she wasn't gonna workout today so I could get on the treadmill right away. So I did. Walked 5.3miles (8.6km) in 90 minutes, burned 920 calories!! WOoHOo)

Oh hey I changed my blogger template! What do you think? I loved the old one but it was even more childish looking or so I thought. I love the new hot chick :) I'll call her River (as it is not my real name anyways) how smart am I :p (say "very") Love you back!

I was tagged by the magnificent Patrick! Thank you sir, you are very kind. I'm suppose to answer these 8 questions and make up new questions and tag others. Let's give it a try.

1.You can have one super power, what would it be?
Losing the weight and staying in perfect shape. Would that count as a super power? May be not. So let's think. I certainly don't wanna hear people's thought. Too scary and probably depressing for me. I'd also be very paranoid about anyone else reading my own. Do you think flying would burn a lot of calories?? That could be nice.
But honestly I would like to have the power of healing. Myself and others. Both physical and mental healing.

2.Which do you see as more important, diet or exercise?
I would say exercise. May be because overall that is the thing I need to work on most and keep at it. Diet by itself can't shape your body, build strength and don't forget endorphins!

3. If we're forced to become vegetarians by law could you do so or would you frequent the black market for meat?
No way! Don't even think about it. That would be a nightmare coming true for me! I'd sell my soul to the black market just to get a piece of turkey even! I'm a fast oxidiser and without a proper portion of protein I do not function and I need my meat to support that throughout the day.

4. Do you consider the word 'Obese' to be a proper word to define those extremely over-weight, or do you consider it to be improper if not a hateful word?
I don't mind the word obese or fat or whatever. Probably because I don't let people to use it in the "wrong" way. But I'm an intimidating woman so I know other people who have a problem with others using these words. I simply use them to state facts.

5. Do you believe that Elvis died on August 16, 1977 or was his death a conspiracy cover up?
Sorry to disappoint anyone but right this second Elvis is watching a game show in my living room. As soon as I'm done here I'll join him and may be he'll sing Heartbreak Hotel for me before bedtime. (Dare to dream people)

6. How much water do you drink a day and do you agree that water intake of 8 glasses a day or more is critical to a healthy body?
I agree cos I have seen what the lack of enough water in your body can do to you. A friend of mine used to forget to drink water cos she hated it. She fainted frequently and many other problems followed..
I drink about 12 glasses. This is an average. I drink more during summer and even more if I workout. I don't drink it to lose weight or be healthy. I drink because I get thirsty. It's been the same all my life. I'm just lucky about water.

7. Aliens have invaded earth and landed a mile from your house, do you run for the hills, do you grab a weapon & charge, or do you try and communicate with them?
First I try to find a vantage point for me and my family. Then I observe if they are hostile or not. If they are hostile I run for my life. If not I try to communicate. Of course they may hide their agenda. So I'll always be looking the exit signs. Then again does anyone has a chance if aliens invaded earth. Thank God I live in Istanbul. Aliens always invade USA :)

8. Is your current approach to getting healthy an approach you consider to be fun and can you do it for the rest of your life?
I want to do it for the rest of my life. That's why I take it a week at a time. I don't follow someone else's diet. I'm trying to learn more and try new things, get them in my favorites list somehow. It's a process and it will not end at any given point of my life.

You've been tagged:
Stefi
baygirl32
Jessica
Tammy
Whitney
Putz
Luke
Kimbo (and here)

Your questions:
1. Who is your hero? Why?
2. Do you have a garden where your grow your veggies? If not do you try to buy organic or do you find it costs way too much?
3. Do you use exercise videos? What's your favorite, why?
4. Favorite workout music?
5. How do you measure your progress? If you haven't reached your goal yet, do you own any skinny clothes you keep to remind you of your goals?
6. Do you have any secrets to keep your energy up for the workouts or your day in general?
7. I like Patrick's super power question so what would your super power be if you could have one?
8. If you had the opportunity to move to anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Challenge is going....

PRETTY GOOD!! I'm as surprised as you are. I have to treat myself like a child and it works so who's gonna complain! Not me. So here is my report for the past 5 days (official report I will need to send to Biz tomorrow!)

- track food every day

I was afraid I would fail miserable at this because it's so boring and annoying and a second time annoying! Hah! I rocked at this. Monday I logged in everything I ate on Spark People. But since tuesday I've been planning all what I should eat the night before. I stuck with all this planning most of the time. The exception being last night. I had some dumb cramps etc so I gave myself some random excuse to eat a cheese sandwich (200calories aprox) which also put me over my calories for the day.

-weekly limit of 11,000 calories

I've given myself 500 extra calories a week to give myself some room not to go panick mode. But I was trying to save it up for weekend. Not happening. Which gives me the impression that at least one day I will not care for the calories. Now here is the important part. May be it is OK not to care for calories for a day (does not mean having high calorie foods all day at all) but I also promised myself 11000 calories a week. But I couldn't save up enough to have a "happy" day. Then again if I don't have my day I might just lose it!!!! Because I've been hungry and unsatisfied almost all week!!!!!!! I'm screaming inside but don't wanna disturb you with all capitals cos if I start now I won't be able to stop.

OK. Deep breaths. Everything is fine. This was a great week. So just calm down. Keep breathing. Fine!

-limit fat and sugar

Only sugar I had all week came from fruit. I didn't think I would survive without ice cream. Turns out I can. And fat was all from olive oil and hazelnut oil on my salads, veggies, etc. Now tell me that doesn't sound good! Hah! Score! on both fat and sugar! =D

-workout 4 times a week

Well I've been doing my "walks" of 1 km, 1.5 km blah blah. I find it a little boring going so slow and don't really have any motivation for it. But in a week the kilometers will get to be more serious and it will all come back to me. Oh and thank you for all who asks me about my knee... it's doing well I guess. Didn't have any pain lately. It's making a lot of noise though! It used to be scary. Now I'm just too used to it so it's just funny! I also have to wear a knee thingy while walking as a workout. I'm not in love with it but it feel like it's doing a lot of the job instead of the knee so can't complain. (I'm still gonna say I didn't like paying about $70 for it)

-keep my living space organized

I'm not done yet but I've gone through some spaces in this room that I haven't seen or cared for a long time. If I end up alone by the time I'm 60 (and I'm being optimistic) I'll be the cat lady who collects all the crap in the world cos she thinks "what if I need this some day". So I'm trying to change that. Thrown away a lot of junk and will keep going through every tiny little corner (I have nothing but time)

I'm not really planning on posting a report like this every week. I just thought this week was a little better than I thought it would be so I had to share :)

---------------------

I've been having some (a ton) problems with my internet. I don't know what the hell but let me tell you it took me about six hours to write this post because it keeps cutting off. So I might have forgot some (a lot) of the stuff I meant to write and it's been very difficult to read your blogs. Hope it will be fixed soon. It has been driving me crazy all day! So annoying.

Oh one more thing, thank you for the new followers. I have 77 followers now! Lucky number some might say =) When I click on your profiles though it just doesn't show up some of your websites or blogs. And I know some of you do have blogs because the same happens with some my favorite bloggers too. So if you have a blog and you realize I'm not following if you could just let me know your addresses that would be awesome. Thanx

Have a great weekend! ♥

The Night Before Weigh-in

Thank you all for your comments about my reward :)  My dress loves you back (yes, she told me herself).

Tomorrow is weigh in day and I'm so nervous! I don't think I've gained more than a pound last week. At least I hope I didn't. So tomorrow morning I really don't know what to expect. I stepped on my scale a couple of days earlier but still not sure... I'm never sure about this numbers thing.

This is what I did since monday. This table is from my Spark People Calendar. The days it says "track cardio" but there are still fitness minutes given, I only did strength training so no cardio calories entered. (I know I'm not sharing what I did over the weekend! yes I mean to hide it from you. so move along people!) In the end it's not the "ideal" week but I think I did pretty good considering I was struggling with sleep till wednesday. I guess I need to admit I'm happy with what I did. I just wish tuesday wasn't so high on calories. I don't even remember what brought up my calories so high.

Did you see the 1022 calories burned today!!!!!! Yesterday was really good too. So what was the difference? When I step on the treadmill I usually am thinking "I think I could go for an hour" and feeling tortured half the time. Yesterday I tried to enter the minutes before I started and let the treadmill count down from 75 minutes. Same today with 90 minutes. Somehow that felt a little easier. I hoped so bad I would reach to a 1000 calories and was scared about half way through that I wouldn't. I guess that's why I'm smiling right now as much as I'm obsessing about tomorrow's weigh in.

We're gonna go see Iron Man 2!!!!!! Probably tomorrow. It's getting hot during the day so seeing a movie is a great option to be out of the house during  the "hot" hours. I loved the first movie a lot. It was soo much fun I'm keeping my fingers crossed the second one will be as good. I haven't read any reviews or anything yet. I don't wanna know much about the movie before I see it. Well the subject and a simple trailer is fine. But if you read too much or the wrong thing it ruins the whole experience for me. By the way does anybody else thinks Robert Downey Jr is getting hotter by the minute?!! When I see that guy I don't think I'll even care for Scarlett and I adore that woman. (I adored her before many of you knew she existed!) Don't worry I'll stop here.

Have a great weekend everybody! Sunday is Mother's Day :)

50

I took a pill last night to help me sleep. I hoped for a 10 hours but had to settle for 9. Because of the job I'm trying to get. One of the people I'll meet about it was on tv discussing something current and I thought it was important for me to get a little more on who he is, etc.

I did wake up during the night but fell back asleep quick. Waking up was a bitch though. I don't know how I managed to get out of the house somehow and meet J. All the way I felt so dizzy and disoriented. Thank God, J wanted to take it slow today. We had a very light walk for 45 minutes. Burned only 380 calories but it is something.

When I came back home I couldn't even take a shower. Just went back to bed wondering if I could sleep or not. Turns out I could. Slept 4 more hours. I feel so much better. Not 100% awesome. But a lot better.

Made myself a nice lunch. Mum already made some salad and pasta, which went perfect with my chicken. I cooked the same chicken with marinade on saturday for my boyfriend. And what do you know, he wants some more. Which is excellent news. Because he likes eating out a lot and I hate spending money on food so much. On his defense he eats so stickly (being a bodybuilder and all) on weekdays and weekend mornings he is always craving for some color. So I'm looking for some nice side dishes to go with the chicken. Also will make a huge, green salad. I guess I'll go for mushrooms? Lots of protein and he loves them. Me too.

I noticed now I have 50 followers! (like I don't check the number everyday. duh!) Exactly 6 weeks from my very first post.

Love you all! Have a great day!

LOSING IS SWEET

I lost 2 lbs! Honestly I wanted more. But when I stepped on the scale and saw 208.5 I just smiled. It felt good. I feel good.

Don't have much time so this post's gonna be short. I gotta workout before I meet my sweetheart.
I did manage to walk on the treadmill the past two days. 60 minutes each. I had to walk slower but my knee feels a lot better. So it's worth slowing down a bit. My initial panic long gone. Today I'm going for Last Chance Workout. I don't want to fall back on my strength training. I worked on my arms, back, shoulders and core on Thursday. But nothing else whole week. Not good. But next week is a new week and I lost 2 lbs. LOL. I just feel good people I feel great!

I also took some measurements. I will post them during the week. In short I lost 2 inches on my hips, belly; 1.5 inches on my waist and 1 inches from both arms and thighs since the last time I measured.

I've been unfollowed by the way! Yeah someone didn't like my blog. I just wish I knew who that was and why exactly. But I have some new followers and I welcome you all. I actually love you all but don't wanna sound too crazy too soon :)

TUESDAY

So I'm gonna start with admitting yesterday was not good at all. I ate a little over my max limit but the real bad part was after making a list of things I had to do I didn't workout. Then I went to bed late and woke up at 11 am, turns out I turned the alarm off and fell back asleep cuddling my cell phone. All is good though. Real life doesn't always match lists. I just need to make adjustments sometimes. So for the workout I missed yesterday I decided I can just go for 90 minutes for a couple of days and just add the numbers up.

Today was good. I would have said great if I could wake up on time. But I had a real good workout. I did 35 minutes of a workout dvd and walked on the treadmill for an hour. My total  for today is:
95 minutes
60 minutes @ target heart rate
Burned 1054 calories
Consumed 1665 calories

I'm happy with these numbers. I also cooked one meal as promised. Lentils for dinner. Also walked my doggy. I'm off to bed in an hour so I'm not doing bad with the hours today. I won't be able to get up at 7 am may be but I can do 8 am.

I'm kinda worried about my knees. They hurt not so lightly after my workout today. I iced both of them for 20 mins and rubbed with the gel I'm suppose to. They don't hurt anymore. But I might have to go easy on them tomorrow. Not sure what I'll do yet. We'll see.

Oh I also am forcing myself not to step on the scale until saturday, my regular weigh in day. It's so difficult! It's like the scale is calling me all the time, lifting up her skirt, showing some leg, trying to trick me into self-inflicted torture. But I am stronger than her. I will not fall for her games. Good luck to me
and
Good luck to you my friends!

MONDAY - SUNDAY

I lost only 0.5 lbs this week. I'd have thought I'd be sad/upset about it but I'm not. That's half a pound I'm not taking back. I'm actually smiling writing this. I believe this is an improvement of my attitude towards myself. So I'll take my half a pound loss and own it. May be I should admit part of this new attitude comes from the fact that I feel like I lost more than that. My body feels even better. People also keep commenting I've a lot of energy, can't keep still. I'm just moving all the time. Sitting at my desk right now writing this, my legs are moving up and down like a maniac. I love it. 

Last week I did good. But I didn't do what I should have. Soon I'll be working on a job and won't have this much time (probably ever) again. I need to use it to it's full advantage. So I made a list. May be I should make a list every week. We'll see. But here it goes: ( Inspired by Dr. Mo, she is celebrating her Birthday Week ♥ )

1 Go to bed at 10pm - light out at 11pm

2 Get up @7am

3 Workout at least 60 minutes all 7 days

4 Walk the dog myself both mornings and nights

5 Cook one meal of the day myself

6 Have a new post at least 5 days out of 7

7 I reserve the right to add or remove to/from this list any time
during the week

One Day You're Fine Next Day You're Not

Thanks everyone for your comments about the painting. Mama loves you too :)

Yesterday was not so okay. I managed to go on the treadmill for 45 minutes and every minute of it was torture. I got through it but really wanted to do more. Just didn't happen. I also ate more than I wanted to. I find it way too hard to resist the food cooked for the rest of the household. Yesterday mom cooked this amazing white rice pilav with lots and lots of butter. That smell could choke me in a second, so I ate 2 cups worth of it. Overall my daily total was up to 2000 calories.

I don't exactly feel guilty. A little worried about the weigh in though. Am I gonna have to go through this every week? I have 3 full days before it's time to step on that scale. I won't be able to workout tomorrow. It's not really that big of a deal. Not this part at least. But hell my appetite is acting up. I don't know how to control this...

Today this "hungry" feeling is stuck in my mind. I mean it's gotta be in my mind. Because I've been eating what I'm suppose to. All my proteins, carbs, fat are at my target range. I'm not starving myself and trust me I cannot not eat. It's so frustrating! I wanna eat all the time!

At least I'm done with workouts for today. I finished Last Chance Workout and had a 30 minutes on the treadmill right after. 747 calories burned. Let's hope I won't end up eating it all back.

I'm going to see a movie tonight with J. I'm really excited about the film. Yet I have a new problem. I've been going to bed so early lately and this movie is at 9.30 pm. I'm hoping to keep awake the whole movie *fingers crossed* We also have tickets for the next morning (11am). Seriously I'll miss my sleep. I'll have to suck it up I guess. I love film festivals and I picked these films cos I wanted to see them bad. Why am I turning this simple thing into something so complicated? I should just try to relax about this scale business. I have to.

WHO KNEW I COULD LIKE MONDAYS!

I worked out both days over the weekend. Do you have any idea how awesome I feel! If I could I would be doing back flipsall day long. My energy level is definitely up. So is my mood. I'm smiling more. Less angry. More patient. I don't "hate" everything as much...  I see colors and brightness everywhere I look. I hope this feeling will not ever go away.

These lovely flowers blong to my mother. Have I told you she is an amateur painter. She picked up painting a few years ago, although she had talent all her life. It's never too late for anything.

Ok I have to confess something. Saturday night wasn't so good. S told me something that really hurt me. I know he didn't mean to but still.. that dark cloud didn't go away till the next day and it didn't go away fo easy. I don't wanna get into details. Because it's gone and I don't wanna make it into something more than it is. I feel great now and that should be what really is important.

Guess what! I had another 2-workouts-in-a-day! Went for my morning walk with J. YAY! I like walking with her. Oh, she told me she lost 2lbs this week!! She's trying to lose 18lbs total. Will I get to see the day when I need to lose only 18 pounds? Is that day ever gonna come really? I guess it has to.

Back to workouts. See the "s" at the end, means multiple! Hah love it! This morning when the hour was up I walked J to the bus (well it's not really a bus I don't know what to call it in English) said goodbye and walked home. Which made my total 96 minutes and burned 1041 calories! In the afternoon I also had another session of Last Chance Workout with my favorite trainer Jillian Michaels :) So totay my total is:

136 minutes (125@target heart rate)
1424 calories burned

I have to admit I ate more than meant to though. I had 1700 calories total. But come on do the math! I think I did good. Considerin I still have a million muffins sitting in the kitchen right now.

Have a wonderful week people! I ♥ you all!

OOPS...

So turns out I was suppose to weigh in tomorrow!! Which gives me an extra day. But with all the heartbrake of last week and working my butt off (I worked out a total of 345minutes this week) I thought I had to weigh in today! So I did. Guess what? I lost 4 lbs! If I had the energy I would be screaming off the top of my lungs this morning. I'm so relieved and happy. I was sick with paranoia :) It's all gone though. I will step on my lovely scale tomorrow morning too. Not that I think there will be a change in a day. But you never know. Plus I wanna see my new weight again. 211. Isn't it sweet. 12 more pounds and I'll be kicking 200s goodbye for everrr ☼ I'm also getting a haircut when I exchange "2" for a "1" soon man very soon!!

Did you notice I'm getting obsessed with numbers. Don't worry I'll lose track soon. Never been good at keeping up with them. Who cares! I lost 4 pounds!! And a special thank you to everybody who was impressed by my calorie burn yesterday :) You really motivate me to do more.

So on that note I did go for my morning walk. It was so difficult though. I really didn't want to. (Not because of the weight loss) I couldn't sleep half the time I was in bed last night. I am a chronic insomniac. Not gonna bitch about it today though. I still got up on time. left the house 20 minutes late. Cos really didn't want to go. Even when I was at the place I kept thinking I can just quit. The whole time! I feel exhausted listening to myseld. I ended up holding on to everything I've got and finished my walk. 72 minutes. 61 mins @ target heart rate. Burned 716 calories! I am so glad I didn't give up. It doesn't happen to me that often. But I guess things are changing.

My legs  are also very very tired. The two workouts yesterday did the trick, which made it even more annoying to walk this morning. I'm not gonna pretend it was torture but it was very annoying. When I was able to drag myself out of the house I kinda hoped I would do another round of Last Chance Workout with my (one of) celebrity crush Jillian Michaels. I just don't think I have the strenght to pull that of today. Definitely tomorrow morning though before I meet my sexy lover. Yeah don't worry I do mean my boy friend. I don't employ any extra lovers on the side at this moment. May be my dog. But she doesn't count. She is not into commitment.

The kitchen is invaded by our cleaning lady and mom. They are cooking enough food for an army. Apparently mom's gonna be too busy over the weekend, so all the food should last till monday. If I can find a little break from them I'm going for those muffins today. I hope the recipe is perfect cos I'm not a magician in the kitchen. Will report to you. Have a great Friday everyone ☺

TWICE IN ONE DAY

I burned a total of 1152 calories today! I'm so freaking proud! I already wrote about my Last Chance Workout here. Later I also went up on the treadmill for 70minutes a little over 4 miles. I was amazed out of the 70 I was walking at my target heart rate for 61 minutes! So some numbers in totals:

Workout: 108 minutes
@THR: 92 minutes
Calories burned: 1152
Calories eaten: 1600

I know 1600 is higher than what I should have eaten. But come on this was the first day in my life I had two workouts in one day! I have to keep this up until I find a job and my time will be very limited. Tomorrow I'll go for my morning walk at the "usual" spot. I really hope it'll become my usual spot for my usual morning walks. And may be even running by next year or so *fingers crossed* If J can make it she'll come with. But she is seriously lacking sleep trying to finish some projects for school.

I didn't make any muffins. Actually I remembered I don't have enough tray for 16 muffins. But I'll play with the recipe (I really hope tomorrow) and make may be 12. Have to visit the future in-laws ASAP so I won't have to think about it for a few weeks. I kinda miss them too. I do. I just can't stand the father-
n-law. I might tell you why some other time.

If anyone read the comments on my yum post, Steph mentions a thai 7 spice. Thank you dear. I'm not sure I can find it in Istanbul. I'm guessing some market has it I would need to look for it though. I love mixed spices. Turkey is a little crazy about spices also. I remember having a piece of bread with goat cheese and a ton of mixed spices for breakfast. It's actually still my favorite thing with some black tea if I can't eat anything when I get sick. My only problem is I get thursty way too much! On an ordinary day if I don't workout, don't eat anything crazy etc I drink 12 glasses of water. Now imagine I eat some black pepper on my chicken it goes up to 15! All my life. There is nothing wrong with it. I'm just made up of water I guess. So I'm also scared of spices. Why did I just share that I have no idea. Cos I'm just gonna go and find that thai 7 spice seasoning or just mix it up myself. Can make some adjustments if I mix it myself. May be cut back on the salt. I'm very sleepy right now :) Can you tell? Feels like I've been thinking in writing.

So I'm out. Gotta walk my lovely doggy and go to bed with my book. Oh you haven't met my little girl yet have you? Here is a preview of my Snow White. Isn't she gorgeous! Yes she knows it too ♥

LAST CHANCE WORKOUT

Tomorrow is weigh in day! So I decided to give the Biggest Loser Last Chance Workout another try. If you can remember I actually tried it before and couldn't do the last circuit because I felt exhausted very quick. I actually didn't write this but I almost did throw up like I see most of the contestants in the show do. It felt horrible. But today was a different story. I made it till the end. Didn't throw up. Didn't feel sick at all. I felt great. I burned 400 calories and 31 minutes out of the total 38 min of the workout I was working at my target heart rate! WOOHOO

So I'm planning on doing this everyday or every other day depending on my schedule for a couple of weeks then may be change it up a little. We'll see what I might decide.
I should talk about the video a little I guess. It is FUN! I'm a huge Biggest Loser fan. Consider this the show doesn't air in this country and I've seen all the seasons every single episode! and Jillian Michaels! I adore her. I have every DVD and book of hers. Don't get fooled just cos I've spent the last year being lazy. I have it all and I'll work with all of them. May be change it up every two weeks or a month. Don't know yet.

Back to the Last Chance Workout. All the moves are basic. Nothing too difficult. Well I have knee issues so had to alternate a couple. But other than that there is nothing you can't do whatever your fitness level is. The pace is way up! 30 seconds intervals. 30 sec of little cardios to increase your heart rate like jumping jacks etc and 30 sec for strength training. You just keep moving. No time to get bored. Of course the music is awful. But you can use your own after a couple of times when you need to listen to what Jillian is saying.

I love all the Biggest Loser contestants in this video. They are not robotic and looking perfect. I even have their personalities during the workout. I feel good, not really intimidated or annoyed by their working out which can happen with other workout videos where you have to watch professionals with amazing bodies completing every move with a huge grin on their faces.

The video also have clear warm up and cool down sections. There is a section of recommended weekly workouts for a six weeks plan. You just pick the day you're on and it plays for you. So you can actually go for 6 weeks without needing to change up for a different video. I find that very helpful.

I also have to admit something here. Because of my arrhythmia problems I cut off 5 seconds at the end of some intervals to breath and rest. But 5 seconds of rest is fine I belive. It made me finish the whole thing and not have a heart attack (kidding about the attack). I'm gettin stronger though. So who knows I might be able to skip resting soon. So overall this is one of my favorite workout DVDs. I love it. I would give it 9/10.

BURN BABY BURN

Hello Hello Hello! The very first day of the week started not so bad at all. Well... I was suppose to meet J for our second morning walk at 8am. And I was at the spot right on time, which wasn't that easy for me I have to admit and I was a little stressed out to make it on time. So I get there. The weather is perfect. Had my morning phone call with my boyfriend (I'm gonna call him S from now on). I'm feeling good and ready. J wasn't there yet though. I give her a call to see where she's at. Sursprise surprise she was in bed. Couldn't wake up apparently. Yeah I'm not gonna get pissed. The whole morning getting ready I kept thinking what if she is still asleep. But I didn't wanna call her and make it a habit of us calling each other to check every single time we do this. I'm not big on trying to say "ok I'm up just hang this phone up so I can get ready" in the morning. So at that point I had to suck it up and not pull my spirits down when I was at this beautiful place and ready to have my walk.

So I ended up walking alone. I have to say It was pretty nice. My only problem was I forgot to take a hat with me and the sun was in a mean mood, which is good. I miss the Sun when it's hiding behind big big clouds. Look at my view for the walk. One of those places you can't stop telling yourself "I love this city." I walked for 85 minutes! 74mins @ target heart rate!!! and burned 900 calories! That's awesome, dont you think ;) I feel great. I have a feeling that scale will be sorry at the end of the week for what it's done to me last friday.

Got some new pics for ya. This little girl was a little too friendly with me. But I had to tell her I'm taken! I wanted to play with her so much. But I met her in the middle of my walk so couldn't really stop and let my heart rate go down. She did attempt to follow me for a while, gave up quick. I wasn't the lazy one this time! YAY for me!

You know last time I had this walk it was at 9am. I surprised to see there were even more people today even though it wasn an hour earlier. A lot of dog walkers! I wish my little doggy liked to walk. We could have more fun together. Anyways of course I love her "just the way she is" :)

New Shoes Are Better Than a New Car

Today was a weigh in day and if my scale is still alive it's only because I can't afford a new one! Still waiting on that period bs to come in. It's been knocking on my door but no show for some reason. I have horrible horrible cravings. But the worst of it all... after two weeks of eating carefully, on target and working out my scale informs me that I gained half a pound!!! That little brat is so lucky to be alive, cos there are things I wanna do to it only serial killers can imagine! I do feel and look blothed, which is giving that "fuck it I'm gonna binge" feeling. I'm resisting so far. Thank God it's friday so I'll spend two whole days uninterrupted with my boyfriend. He had a stressful day at work too. We both need some sunshine and frozen yoghurt :)

I can't affor a new scale cos I just bought these babies from New Balance. My first pair. Always wanted one but there are not cheap at all. My father paid for them, otherwise I would have never gotten this good a pair. So thanks dad. I don't really know if I deserved the shoes but I sure needed them. They also make me feel better about that scale incident. Because I am working on my eating and exercise. Sooner or later that scale has to show some magic numbers. It will happen and I'll be damned if I give up now! I walked from the shop back home. 32 minutes. If I can get rid of my cramps I'll also do yoga later. Whatever happens I'll be fine.

WALK BABY WALK

For the first time today I woke up early to go for a walk! I live in Istanbul and there is a beautiful trail for walkers and bikers, etc by the sea 10 minutes from my home. So one of my best friends asked me to go for a walk yesterday and I said "yeah why not" Of course I regreted it by this morning. It was torture to wake up at 7:45 when I "couldn't" sleep because I couldn't put down my book. Well torture or not I did get up. Had my regular breakfast. I can't function without breakfast, so I don't have a problem with eating early, which I think is pretty lucky. 

So this photo is from this morning. I'm the ugly one on the right :) I don't think I'm ugly but hell this pic is not my best. Not that I look that good in any pics. The lovely lady on the left is J. Her mother was the nurse asisting my birth!! We go that far back! She is the reason I burned over 800 calories today before my mother  or my dog even woke up.

So there wasn't any sun around but the weather was still beautiful and fresh. Seeing so many people walking, running around also gives you a sense of belonging. I find that a little surprising. A happy one. We had our headphones on but still chatting and giggling of course. We walked for an hour and 16 minutes. J has a strange foot problem and she was having some trouble. We were getting tired too. But we'll try to build it up slowly. 10 minutes each time may be. Hoping to go for 3 days a week.

My parents were a little jealous. I really hope they'll come with next time. Monday. They can walk with their own pace and it's all about moving a little. And that morning air is like a drug! I always say it. Early morning is my favorite time of the day and I want it to be addictive.

I also did a 25 minute yoga session yesterday. But couldn't really hold on to it. Quit in the middle. It was a new video and too much work on the knees. Obviously I can't be on my knees and couldn't figure out an alternative and got exhausted pretty quick. I'll go for an old video tomorrow. Yoga for Weight Loss by Gaiam. I used to love that one. It doesn't have too much work on the knees which is great. I did good with food yesterday but today I was a very bad girl. My weapon of choice was McDonalds. I didn't even like it. I ended up eating 800 over my daily limit. I'm not gonna kill myself over it. It's done. Not gonna happen tomorrow. I'm over it. Tomorrow I'm buying new running shoes though! That will be my desert!

I also did the Virtual Me thing :) I find it a little funny a little hopeful a little troubling, but whatever.
Before 234lbs - After 150lbs

An Update and a Thank You

Thank you to all of you who commented or just read my last entry. I guess it sounded like I was miserable but I am not. I love supporting my boyfriend and discussing his workouts most of the time. But then again there are those days... Yesterday was one of them. Thank God today is not! I feel like I'm on a roller coaster sometimes. Hopefully my better days are growing in numbers when the bad ones are shrinking in size. I am very thankful for all your support. You put a huge smile on my face and pushing me harder to do better the next day. So here is what I did the last couple of days:

Monday: eaten: 1,515 calories / 196carbs / 38fat / 101protein

The Biggest Loser Last Chance Workout (-the last circuit)

burned: 401 calories / total: 38 minutes / 18min. @target heart rate

Tuesday: eaten: 1,556 calories / 205carbs / 33fat / 111 protein

Walk on Treadmill

burned: 566 calories / total: 55 minutes / 31min. @target heart rate

Trying to cut back on calories is tough. But I know it will get down slowly. I still can't get over the "hungry." As long as I'm not eating more than 1600 I'll deal with it. I really hope to get 6 days of workouts this week. Even if it's a short workout I'm gonna get my butt off this chair and move. I'm hoping for a second run with the Last Chance workout tomorrow. It was very hard. The intensity is wow! I might need to take a few breaks for a minute or so... but I'll do the whole thing and not skip the last circuit this time. There is nothing too difficult in it. Just need to get used to the high intensity. and I will. I will do it.