I Suck...

So... it's February and my last post was in August...

I am the worst blogger in the world...

But, I'm back, and that's all the matters, right?

Anywho, A LOT has happened since August, so I'll use the next couple posts to bring everyone up to date on a few things. Let's start with the most important item...

My weight!

August 2009

161.2 pounds

February 2010

That's right, baby. I am TINY!!!

Sorry... I'm coming back down to Earth now...

I currently weigh 148.6, I'm a size 6 and I LOVE THE WAY A LOOK. This brings my grand total of weight loss to 82.6.

*Sorry Highmark WeightWatcher scale... Today, you said I weigh 153.6, and I do not believe that I gained 5 pounds since Saturday. You can go suck an egg.

That picture is the first photo I've had taken of me since the Zumba certification class, and I could not believe I really looked like that. This is the first time I've EVER looked at a photo and thought, "Gosh, I really HAVE lost a lot of weight." It was a really great feeling.

Want to know how I lost those additional 12.6 pounds? Well, I guess you'll just have to come back to find out.

mmmuuuwwwhhhaaaa

Pudge out,

Caitlin

Almost there...

Me and Beto, the creator of Zumba.

I could put him in my pocket.

It was an exciting weekend last week! I am officially a certified Zumba instructor!

WOO!

The experience was amazing, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. We were able to take two Masters classes from the master himself, Beto Perez, the creator of Zumba. It was two-eight hour days of Latin dancing, and even thought I couldn't really move on Monday, it was all worth.

Now that I am officially certified, I can start teaching anywhere I want. So, my first goal is to take over the Highmark Wellness Center. (evil laugh)

(P.S. That is a total joke...)

The usual instructor is going to be out for the next two Wednesdays, so I'm filling in under the supervision of one of the other instructors at the center. I AM SO EXCITED!! And, incredibly nervous. I haven't taught dance in about six years, and I was dealing with 5 and 12-year olds.

So, the plan is to do a mix of what the instructor does every week and then throw in a few of my own dances. So far, I have two numbers done... I need to get on it!!! AHH!!

The great thing about two days of Zumba is the amount of weight you lose... 2.7 pounds!! I'm weight is now...

161.5

I'M ALMOST THERE!!

Last time we talked, apparently the 165 weight was the correct one because the following week my weight was 164.3. But, I am SO EXCITED!! WOOT!!

In closing, if anyone from Highmark is reading this and you want to try out my class, it's Wednesday at noon. IT'S GOING TO BE AWESOME!!

Until next time...

Keepin' the pudge alive,
-Caitlin

Vacation, all I ever wanted to eat

This image made me laugh so hard!

It's been WAY too long since my last post, and I truly appologize for that. It's been a crazy month, so I haven't been able to post as much as I wanted.

Before leaving for vacation, I was down to 163. WOOT! But, you know how that goes...

This was my first vacation since I was 14, and we went to Holden Beach, NC, with some friends and Washington DC during the 4th of July. Needless to say, it was AMAZING! I think I ate my weight in fried food, and gained 3.4 pounds.

No biggie, right?

Well last Saturday, Ryan and I went to Kennywood with a friend, which was fun. I actually didn't eat any of the infamous cheese fries, but I did bring home a brick of fudge. Somehow, I managed to lose 2.2, which was due to a lot a praying right before I got on the scale.

This week was pretty good. I went to the gym Monday-Friday, only ate a little bit of fudge, and tried to focus only on core. Yesterday, I hopped on the scale and I was down to 163 again. YAY!

But, this morning, my TRUE weigh-in day, the scale said 165.2.

WHAT?!?!?!

Is that even possible?

I counted EVERYTHING I ate last week, even the fudge, and exercised my little heart out.

Cue angry face:

So, by the advice of my loving boyfriend, I'm counting the number from yesterday. I ate dinner late last night, so maybe (?) that's it. Anywho, I'm not going to let this get me down. I'm feeling extra motivated this week, so it's going to be a good one!

On a fitness related note, I'm becoming a Zumba instructor next weekend!!! SO EXCITED!!! It's a two-day workshop, and at the end, I'll have my certification to teach. I'll blog all about it on Sunday.

Here's to a GREAT week!

You pudgie baby,

-Caitlin

All weight loss counts!!

Oh, it's Sunday morning, and time for the weekly weigh in...

165.8

Down .2! EVERY LITTLE BIT COUNTS!!

I know this week could have been better. Last Sunday, I ate my weight in garlic bread, and while I counted it, I know it wasn't good. I feel like any week that I eat too many carbs, the weight just sticks.

Also, Friday night, Ryan and I went to go see "The Hangover" (AWESOME MOVIE!!), and I finally talked him into going to my favorite restaurant Sieb's Pub. They have the best crab cake salad: lettuce, green peppers, red onion, tomato, cucumber with fat-free raspberry vinaigrette and a nice little crab cake on top.

That meal would have only cost me 4 points if it wasn't for the mound of cheesy grilled chicken nachos Ryan order. And, OF COURSE, I had to eat some. THERE ARE TOO YUMMY!

So, all in all, I'm happy with this week. I wasn't sure what to expect, and to see 165 on the scale again is pretty exciting, even if it is followed by .8.

Right now, I'm heating up some oatmeal with cinnamon, a teaspoon of brown sugar and skim milk topped with a little Fiber One for some crunchiness. I know it sounds weird, but the Fiber One beats the calories in granola any day.

I think today I'll also be doing some swimsuit shopping. If you are lucky, I'll post my findings this week. ONLY FOUR MORE WEEKS AND I'LL BE LAYING ON THE BEACH!!! WOOO!!!

Have a great week, my fellow pudgie ones.

With sincere pudge,

Caitlin

P.S. Has anyone ever hung on the towel bar to see what the scale does? It's actually kinda funny... "Look, I'm only 113!!"

PIZZA! PIZZA!

IT'S ALL I CAN THINK ABOUT!!!

And, it seems to be everywhere I look: on the TV, in my coupons, at work, EVERYWHERE!!

As if you can't tell, I LOVE PIZZA. It's probably one of my favorite foods in the whole world, especially the five-cheese one from Cafe Milano in downtown...

This image is now making me think of donuts... DAMN IT!

I was watching Sandra Lee's Money Saving Meals this weekend, and she made Farm Stand Pizza. It was basically a veggie pizza. It looked pretty tasty, so I decided to give it a try last night.

I made a few substitutions...

• I didn't make her tomato sauce because I was lazy, so i just used some canned diced tomatoes
• I used fat-free mozzarella instead of the good, fatty, yummy cheese
• I used a Flat Out tortilla instead of the pizza dough - 1 point and totally delicious, by FAR the best high fiber tortilla out there

Overall, not bad but not great. But, I didn't really care for the broccoli on it. I thought it was kind of odd. If I would do it again, I would nix the broccoli.

Since I was disappointed, I decided to give it another try tonight. I actually stumbled upon this recipe in Prevention magazine, which I some how have a subscription to even though I never signed up for one...

Yes... I eat off of pink plates. And, they are AWESOME.

This is how the pizza went down:

• Flat Out tortilla
• Diced tomatoes
• Grilled chicken
• Fat-free mozzarella
• Oregano
• Minced garlic

Ummm... DELICIOUS!! It was actually really good, and something I will definitely eat more often. Everything except the wrap is CORE, so it only cost me 1 point. A small slice of cheese pizza is 6 points!! I would say this is a pretty good deal!!!

Anyone out there have any other yummy low-cal pizza ideas? You know I want to hear them!

Your pudgie pizza lover,
Caitlin

Monday, Monday

See, I told you I'd post today.

Today was a pretty good day. Let take a look at the foood breakdown, shall we?

Breakfast

1/2 a cup of plain oatmeal with one cup of skim milk sprinkled with fiber one

Wow... if that ain't an old lady breakfast...

Lunch

A salad from my favorite place in the whole world, Fresh Corner, in our food court!

• Lettuce
• Grilled, plain chicken
• 1 tbsp of shredded asiago
• Carrots
• Broccoli
• Red onion
• Cherry tomatoes
• Fat-free raspberry vinaigrette

OMG... it is awesome. Everything is so fresh and tasty. It's also like the most expensive place to buy lunch, so I tried to limit myself to once a week, MAX.

I also had some fat-free, sugar-free chocolate fudge pudding and a sugar-free jell-o cup. So, I went from eating like an 80-year-old to an 8-year-old...

Snack
I had a bag of 94 percent fat-free popcorn when I got home from work and some more of that delicious pudding. I'M NOT WEIRD! IT IS SO GOOD!

Dinner
Tonight, we had salmon fillets with green beans and a baked potato, which was topped with fat-free sour cream and fat-free cheddar. Yes, the fat-free cheese is a little gross, but if you melt it, it tastes soooo much better.

Dessert
I made an angel food cake yesterday, so I had one slice tonight, which was AWESOME. I have to have Ryan hide the rest of it, so I don't eat it all tomorrow...

Overall, it was a pretty good day. I went to spinning this afternoon at the gym for 45 minutes and biked about 15 miles.

I'm always looking for new things to try, so if anyone has any suggestions, LET ME KNOW!

Peace the pudge out,
-Caitlin

I'm Baaaaaaaaaaaaaack

I'm a bad blogger... I know.... Please don't hate me.

But, I'm BACK! That's what's important, right?

Since my last post, I'm down to 166!! WAAAHOOO!! I was so flippin' excited this morning.

So, what worked this week, you ask? I'll tell you!

• I work out every day except Sunday. During the week, I've been going to Spinning, Step, Zumba, Cardio Interval and Step Sculp, and each class is 45 minutes. I also started running North Park Lake one day a week on Saturday.
• I wrote down everything I ate, include the hot dog and pie I had at my mom's on Memorial Day, which hurt to do. But, I follow the core plan, so I just took the points out of my weekly total and focused on eating as much core as I could.
• I've been filling up on fruits and veggies. I'm addicted to frozen grapes and green beans right now.
• I cut out the Hershey kisses at work. I think I count every one I put in my mouth, but there seem to be a few hundred that I miss.

My goal for this week is to lose 1 pound. I'm going to focus on the lean meats and veggies in all of my meals, including the ones at work. I'm also going to make sure I hit the gym every day, no matter what.

I have to work extra hard tomorrow because I did eat three slices of garlic bread today... whoops... I JUST CAN'T SAY NO! IT'S TOO GOOD!

Also, I promise to be more loyal to my blog. Besides, I made a promise to myself and others to do this, so I should probably stop being so freakin' lazy and get on track.

Here's a good week!

Love, pudgie wudgie,
-Caitlin