Discouraged, but hanging in there!

I'm beginning to get discouraged with my weight loss (as I often do) because it isn't going fast enough. Deep down I know that this is ridiculous as 1-2 pounds each week is normal, but I can't help it. I feel as though I've lost nothing this week and I know it is my own fault for eating so terribly. It's times like these when I just need a little push to keep things going. Here are a few great motivational quotes that really put things in perspective:

• "It's not whether you get knocked down; it's whether you get up."
• "You must begin to think of yourself as becoming the person you want to be."
• "You must do the thing you think you cannot do."
• "You don't drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there."
• "The difference between try and triumph is just a little umph!"
• "The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking places."

Little quotes like that help keep me strong and my goals in sight :).

Anyways, today was a busy busy day.

I went to the pharmacy to get some prescriptions filled. From there, Mikey and I went to the Burke Museum, which I had to visit for an extra credit opportunity in my Archaeology class. That took quite a bit of time as I had to go to certain portions of the museum to take notes, but luckily I have been there before, so I had at least a feeling of where I needed to be.

We didn't get around to eating until after the museum :(. I was really hungry. We decided to go to the Macaroni Grill on the way home, and boy am I glad we did! It was so yummy in my tummy :). I I immediately ordered a cup of black coffee because it was cold and rainy out (for as beautiful as it was out yesterday, it was equally as ugly today) To eat I got:

• Honey Balsamic Chicken: Grilled chicken with honey balsamic glaze. Served with sun-dried tomato capellini pasta and grilled broccoli (though my broccoli was most definitely steamed)

The entire dish is 640 calories which is really low considering how much food you get. I could only eat half! I also snacked on the delicious salty, rosemary bread they bring to the table.

• 1/2 Honey Balsamic Chicken (320cal)
• Rosemary bread (130cal)

=450 calories

We actually went to the gym this evening! I love getting in work outs and I'm going to make a better effort to get them in every day as I know they will expedite the weight loss process.

By the way, I think I should touch on my weight loss goals a bit. I'm not exactly sure how much weight I want to lose (I know I originally said something like 10 pounds but I've lost around there and I'm still not happy with my weight), but what I do know is what I want to look like. I want a strong, healthy body with less fat :). So, this could mean that I don't lose much more weight, but instead build more muscle (which in turn burns fat!). 

In the interest of being completely honest with myself, I decided I might as well post my weight/measurements/body fat. Right now my body fat is around 20% (as tested at home with a printable tape measure, hah so may or may not be completely accurate though it claims to be fairly accurate), and I'd like it to be around 18%. I weigh 133 lbs at 5'7" and my measurements are:

waist (at narrowest part): 26"

hips (at widest part): 36"

wrist (at narrowest): 5.8"

neck: 12" (I think? This was hard to do)

calf (with weight on dominant leg at widest part): 13.1"

Thigh (widest part of upper thigh- ugh the worst): 20"

I feel like these look better in writing than on my body.

Questions/comments/opinions/advice on my weight loss/whatever would be greatly appreciated :D!

ANYWAYS, at the gym I had a hard cardio workout on the elliptical. It was going really well until 2.75 miles in when I developed a ridiculous cramp that felt as if was being stabbed in the abdomen and my vision began to blur. It started to get hard to breathe and I knew what was coming next if I didn't stop- I was going to pass out. So, I somehow managed to finish the third mile, and then I couldn't even handle a cool down. I stumbled my way to the mat and collapsed. I'm fairly certain this was all due to the fact that I really needed to eat as I had just burned roughly the same amount of calories I had eaten all day.

My workout was still pretty good despite the disastrous end. I did 3 miles in 24:45. That's 8:15/mile. I burned 310 calories.

When we got home I immediately made a big ol' nutrient-dense green smoothie.

It made me feel SO much better! The mix included:

• 1 big banana (110cal)
• 1 small original yogurt with strawberries that I had from Red Mango in the freezer (100cal)
• 2/3 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (27cal)
• 2 big lacinato kale leaves (negligible)
• 2 tbsp creamy natural peanut butter (190cal)
• 3 ice cubes

=427 calories

You just cannot comprehend how amazing and revitalizing that smoothie was!

A bit later, after a couple hours of lab write-ups, I decided to have dinner. I tried to make it SUPER calorie-dense since I clearly was in need of calories. I had my leftovers from earlier, half a sandwich, some applesauce, and a pickle:

• 1/2 Honey Balsamic Chicken (320cal)
• 1/2 Moroccan Carrot, Goat Cheese, and Green Olive Tapenade Sandwich (290cal)
• GoGo squeeZ applesauce in "appleapple" (60cal)
• Claussen pickle (5cal)

=675 calories- It was soooo much food, ack! I'm full.

=1422 calorie - 310 calories burned

=1112 net calories for the day