17 Day Diet

So I'm starting a new diet called the 17 Day Diet.  I had seen it on the Doctors show a few times and my mom decided to order the book. (you can only get it on his website... http;//www.17daydiet.com) She let me borrow it and essentially i just took notes. There's a workout video you can buy with it, but I don't have it so I'm just gonna do my own thing. Basically, you have 3 Cycles of 17 days and a 4th cycle which is just a maintaining cycle.  They say it is expected to drop 10 to 15 lbs just in the first 17 days you're on this diet.  I thought it might be crap.  But I am now on Day 5 and I've already dropped 6 lbs ( it would probably be more if I hadn't cheated yesterday at lunch and ate at El Chico's).  I am shocked needless to say at the way the pounds are already falling off.  And on top of that, I haven't really been exercising much either.  (you are supposed to do at least 17 minutes of exercise a day though).  It's supposed to help you lose fat and also help you lose the visceral fat that is around all your organs in the body too. 

Here's a breakdown of what goes on basically:

 

The first 17 day cycle, you eat lots of lean proteins like fish, chicken, or lean turkey and eat lots of fresh veggies (broccoli, lettuce, tomatoes, asparagus, etc....), you can eat unlimited amounts of both of these things.  Then you can have 2 low sugar fruits (apples, pears, oranges, etc) and 2 probiotic servings (yogurt, low fat cottage cheese, etc) and 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive or flax seed oil a day.  You start each morning off with 8 oz of hot water with a half a lemon squeezed into it and drink an 8 oz glass of hot or cold green tea with each meal (3 a day). You also need to drink a total of eight 8 oz glasses of water also.  Those are the basics.  Then each of the other 17 day cycles, you slowly add more foods to them.  Like the second cycle, you add some natural starches in (2 servings a day) of stuff like brown rice, potatoes, corn etc.  And you can add some seafood like shrimp, mussels, clams, crab...etc. Oh, and you can add lean cuts of meat, like certain steaks or lean pork chops. On cycle 2, you alternate one day of these higher calorie meals with one day of the cycle one lower calorie meal days.  This should keep your body guessing your calories and help you keep burning fat faster.  The third cycle, you'll start to lose weight more slowly and start portion controls.  Instead of unlimited amounts of proteins from the lists, you have to start having a smaller portion.  You can also add in bread, high fiber cereal, whole wheat pasta, and some different kinds of milk like skim, soy, or almond.  You can add a few different fruits in too as long as you mostly eat the low sugar ones from the first cycle.  Then the last cycle, you basically follow your favorite meals from the first 3 cycles Monday breakfast through Friday lunch, then you can have 3 cheat meals on the weekend as long as you don't over do yourself and you start back up Monday morning.  

Well I started day one at 211....I'm at 205 on day 5 and I'll try to keep posted with updates at least after each cycle if I can.  I may post pics later but I'm not sure yet.  I'll let you know!  Wish me luck!!!

Goodbye 2010....Hello 2011!!

Ok so Happy New Years! LOL  I thought I would update on how I did on my New Year's Resolutions from last year and make a few new ones for this one.  First things first....I'll list what 2010's goals were and if they were successful or not!
1.  Read 100 books in 2010-completed!!  I actually read 111 books last year!
2.  Lose (and keep off) 10-15 lbs-completed!  I exceeded this goal for once!  Very proud of myself.  I actually lost and kept off 30 lbs this last year!  I have now lost and kept off 40 lbs over the last 2 years!!!!  I can't believe it!
3.  Pay off our furniture-completed!  Barely did it but I got it paid off in December...which was good since Jan would have been with interest!
4.  Pay extra on our Sebring loan-failed! *unless you count the 43ish cents a month I round up on our payment!  But we also used a skip a pay so I'm pretty sure that counteracted all that change! Plus, my escort died this year and I wasn't expecting that so we had to get a new car this past year.  Luckily my parents were able to sell me their Escape and so now instead of one car payment, we have 2.
5.  Have a savings (and with more than a couple of bucks in it)-failed!  I have $6.80 in our savings right now...but I have also had to go to the doctor several times in the last few months and with no insurance, it adds ups quickly....so I did have savings until recently.


Ok....so that looks like all the resolutions I made last year....not too shabby if I don't say so myself!  I did better than I thought I would have!  Ok so I've been trying to come up with a few resolutions for 2011.  Here's what I have come up with....at least so far! lol

1. Read 100 books-I'm pretty sure that I can accomplish this goal again this year....at times it does seem like it's not going to happen though
2.  Lose and keep off 15 lbs....this will put my 5 lbs under my first MAJOR weight loss goal....and put me at a total of 55 lost total.  I think this is a reasonable goal....plus look at last year....I said 10 to 15 and I lost and kept off 30....it apparently can happen!
3.  Have a savings-I would like to have more than $6.80 at this time next year put away! lol....we'll see....
(maybe i can save up to $7!)
4.  Pay at least one extra car payment on a vehicle....it doesn't matter which one....I would just like to be ahead a little bit....or maybe a lot bit.....I'll dream big
5.  Get a new laptop and pay it off this year....I know it is inevitable....we will get one this year at some point...I just hope we will have no payment for a couple of months before we start in on a new one! 
6.  Update my wardrobe.....seriously I have been lacking in clothes for years....well work clothes and jeans at least....I hope to own more than one pair of jeans that fit and have new work pants because all of my slacks are seriously falling off my butt and have been for awhile now...yes this is a good problem but not if I can't find/buy any new ones!

OK....that seems like maybe I can accomplish those goals...and I'm stopping with 6 because I'm pretty sure I won't make it any farther if I just keep coming up with stuff!  Here's some random things about what has happened the last few months since I haven't updated on here in awhile....

We are now the proud parents of a beautiful kitty named Percy Tails....mostly going by Tails or Bubba lol
The first picture is of him the first day we had him....poor thing was starving to death so Terry saved him from Chisholm Corner and brought him home.  The next one is him sitting on all my books!  lol he does love boxes and books!  And the last one is him playing in the leaves outside.  He had been digging like a dog right before that pic!

Also, as I sorta said earlier...my escort died....yes the one I had in high school when I first got my license....I had it for 9 years...But I do love the Escape I have now!  Sooo thankful mom and dad were able to help us out by selling it to us!  Terry's mom got married this year and moved!  She got married on Sept 25 to Allen Lampman and now they live in Rush Springs.  Cory and Karissa both got jobs this year!  YAY!  And they also moved out to Rush.  So weird that I lived there for so long and now all of them live there!  Craziness......hmmm what else....oh I've been with the bank for 5 years now.....oh and sadly I have to go to new accounts training next week.  I really don't want to do new accounts but hey what can you do when your new boss pretty much doesn't give you an option....you just go and at least I'm getting to go with Mandy.  That part should be fun! lol  Well I'm going to end this now because it's 3:30 in the am and I really need to be going to bed.....Terry will be home from work in less than 3 hours...I should be asleep before that happens!  Well I'll try to update more often.....good night!  Oh and on one last side note...I also won free shoes three times this year from DSW!!  Although my hubby is trying to "buy" my last gift card from me so he can get new shoes so we will see.....

Boobs....and other stuff

Another short blog also related to my weight loss.  Sorry if you don't wanna hear this, I just feel like saying it.  Okay so I have massive boobs...correction...had massive boobs....now they are just huge! haha  I used to wear a 44 DDDD bra.  Yeah that's right 4 D's...no typo there.  I hated them...Seriously NO ONE should have boobs that big!  I have wanted a reduction for years but I always have said I would wait till after kids before doing it....since they will get bigger than they already are.  Well I still may have a reduction one day but for now I have gotten some relief.  Most of the time when I lose weight, my boobs won't get smaller.  Most women probably wish their boobs wouldnt shrink when they lose weight but I always want mine too.  Every other time I have lost they stay the same but this time they FINALLY have went down some! yay!  I got a new bra fitting this weekend since bras were on sale when I was shopping and I now am the proud owner of a set of 40 DD's again! I am soo happy!  I really still want them smaller but I am glad for this much of a change.  It's still a pretty big jump!  2 cups and 4 inches!  YAY!  Sorry but no before and afters of these this time!  Now I'm just working on shrinking some more of me!  I am now doing the Jillian Micheal's 30 day shred video again...the farthest I got last time was day 17 and I definately saw results.  Now I'm going to attempt the full 30 days and see what I can do!  Today was day 4.  Ugh....the worst by far today but mostly cause I ate HORRIBLE today.  Believe it or not I can actually feel a big difference in the quality of my workout by what i have eaten.  Brownies, ice cream, french fries, and fried chicken definately NOT good esp for the shred video....I soo thought I was gonna hurl!  And I HATE throwing up....I avoid it at all costs! LOL But I finished the workout with out any problems even though I did have to take a break for a few minutes....there was NO WAY I could do crunches starting out feeling sick lol I can barely do them when I'm feeling great! haha!  But I usually do pretty good all week long on my diet and eating healthier choices overall so maybe this week I can power through it...at least I'll be ready for day 10 starting Sat so I'll be ready to switch to level 2....maybe that alone will motivate me to do good during the weekend! Well I think that's about all I have to say for now.  I'll try to post pics from before 30 day shred and after....as well as day 10 and 20 when I switch to level 2 and level 3. 

Oh and I have finished 50 of my 100 books this year...way behind schedule but I'm getting there!  Well it wasn't as short as I thought this post would be but I've had longer! haha!  Bye! : )

before and afters

so i feel like keeping it short today....I've been saying I was going to post some before and after pics...(well hopefully not all the way after) I decided instead of digging up pics of me at my heaviest, i would just do a pic sorta biggest loser style lol....

Before.....

....After

 and I thought I would throw this one if too lol

We'll just have to wait and see if I'm brave enough to post this on facebook....but for now at least a couple people can see em if they want to.....oh and on a funny side note....i actually took the before and after shots in my middle sized jeans and didn't realize it...in fact i wore the middle sized jeans to work all day the next day and was wondering how i had managed to have such HUGE pants on all day....since i had just bought the smaller size one week earlier....yeah I got home and started putting up my laundry and found the size 16s at the bottom of the pile! haha!  I felt so dumb for not figuring it out sooner!  I had worn (and taken pics) in the wrong size....needless to say, I retook the pics with the REAL new jeans and had a huge laugh about it!  

Long time overdue!

So it's been forever and a day since I've updated on here...so I thought I would a little.  First off I would like to say how proud of myself I am!  This past Saturday Terry and I went to the mall for like the first time in forever.  I saw in Old Navy that jeans were on sale so I thought I would try some on to see if I could wear any in the store ( I had gotten bigger than they carry in stores and I hate buying jeans online unless I know they fit me right) I hate saying it but I will cause nobody really reads this anyways lol...I was a size 22 and i know last time I tried new clothes on awhile ago I was still a 20 but I always stay in between sizes.  I can lose 30 or 40 lbs and not go down a pant size.  Well i took a 18 and a 16 in the dressing room just to see.  Last time I wore a 16 was shortly after I got married when I started gaining weight back.  the smallest I've ever been was a 10/12 my senior year.  Well i didn't even know for sure if the 18s would fit me but i wanted to see how far away from a 16 i was...well I was brave and tried them on first.....and to my great suprise...they zipped ALL THE WAY...and they buttoned....and they didn't squeeze everything out the top just to make them fit either....I almost had a heart attack!  a 16?!!!  Honestly I'm still in shock...so now I gotta keep busting my butt so I can wear that 16 and keep going on my weight loss journey....Overall I've lost about 36 lbs and apparently 3 dress sizes!  It's giving me sooo much motivation to keep going!

On the book goal...I was doing really bad....it took me over 3 weeks just to finish a book that should've taken me one to three days at the most lol but I've slowly started getting back on track....I have completed 42 books and I'm working on 43 and 44. I should have read 50 books about 2 weeks ago so I'm about 15 books behind schedule! lol....but I'm working on it! 

Me and the hubby went to the Tim McGraw/Lady Antebellum/Love & Theft concert about a month ago at the OKC Zoo Amphitheater.  It was totally amazing!  We both had a blast!  Looking forward to the next concert with the hubby now!  It's actually the first concert we have went to together!  Then we stayed the night in Edmond and almost got flooded in the next morning....like for real!  We had to wait it out awhile in the hotel room and then we had to go straight home because you couldn't drive anywhere because of the flood waters. Parts of the interstate were shut down and when it had reopened and we started going home....we saw all the abandoned cars everywhere...there was a mustang sitting on top of another car both pushed into a concrete wall from the force of the waters.....it was sooo crazy!  But we made it home safe and sound....just a lot earlier than we intended lol. 

                                                  Tim McGraw!  

             Lady Antebellum



Well this is the first summer in like 4 years I didn't get  a kiddie pool for my yard...but there was good reasoning behind it....mom and dad finally bought an above ground pool!  So we go visit their's when the weathers nice enough....it's been a little crazy lately with all the rains we keep getting.  It also delayed our fireworks a week.  And then this was the worst show I've ever seen Marlow put on.....totally bad....if you missed it well be glad cause it was a big waste of time! lol
 

                                                                   Tim McGraw

k well i think that's about all the rambling....oh wait that's not all...worst of all my car....the one I've had since I first got my license 9 years ago...died....so very sad!  I was and still am sad about it.....but we ended up getting a new one (or new to us) we bought mom and dad's silver escape from them.  I love it!  Even though I feel guilty since I feel like I'm letting the old car down moving on so well! lol....jk well sorta!  K that's really all the news now...any  ?? and I'll answer!  Until who know when...Ciao!

Free Shoes, Concerts, and the beginnings of a great summer!

So it's been FOREVER since I've posted on here so I thought I'd give it a whirl!  LOL....so anyways I went to Frontier City this past Saturday with my cousin Erica to see Kevin Fowler, Pat Green, and Mark McKinney in concert!  It was amazing!  We had a blast and we got to take our pics with Mark and Kevin.  And I was wearing my Johnny Cooper shirt and Mark McKinney said he loved it and knows him! HAHA!  It was great and he was super nice!  We were gonna get our pics with Pat Green too but after the concert he bought the first 100 beers so we knew we didn't stand a chance trying to get to him! 
Lets see....so I usually talk about my weight and my book goals on here so here we go......well I hadn't done the best diet wise until last week when I restarted my diet and lost almost 4 lbs!  I'm still trying hard to keep going.  Now we have the treadmill at the house so it makes it easier to workout when I work late.  Speaking of that, I still have to motivate myself to get up and do it in a little bit.  I always feel so much better if I just go ahead and exercise!  And my book goal is going okayish....I've completed 35 of the 100 books but to stay on track I really need to read 6 more books by a week from today.  Not sure how well that will work but I am in the middle of at least 3 so maybe I can power through it! LOL  Not too long ago I won a $75 gift card to DSW.com shoes!  I follow them on twitter and every Friday it's Free Shoe Friday day and I actually won after trying for months! LOL....now I'm determined to win again so I can buy some Reebok EasyTone shoes!  lol....I mean what's better than free shoes right? LOL....I originally got 3 pairs for it but one pair was too narrow so I took them back to the store Saturday and exchanged them and still had some money left over so tonight I ordered another pair....so now for about $17 I got 4 pairs of shoes from them!  So awesome! 
Not too much else going on in my life right now....getting excited to go see Lady Antebellem and Tim McGraw on June 13th with Terry at the Zoo Amp!  We're gonna stay a night in a hotel after ward with the jacuzzi in it!  YAY!  It's kinda a combined bday trip for us since we both have June bdays...then I am off work that week for vacation!  YAY!  I can't wait!
Really I don't have much else to talk about so i guess I'll get off here and go workout!  (Hopefully!) Wish me luck!
Love,
Gena Belena!

Spoiler!! Lots of rambling in this post!

So lots has gone on since my last post....most of which I am going to keep to myself.  It's made me extremely sad but sometimes stuff happens and you just have to deal with it and see what happens ....It's been hard on me but I'm trying to figure some stuff out on my own.  I know I've lost someone who I was very close with but I felt like I did what I thought was best for me at the time....I know I may not have handled it the best but I did what I thought needed to be done.  I still feel horrible and it hurts me every day to think that I've lost this person but I know it probably wouldn't be the same now anyway and I know why they wouldn't want to be around/talk to me anymore and I really just can't figure out how to put my feelings into words yet and I'm still not sure what to do or say or not say yet so sorry for the confusing message or non message or whatever this rambling idiot is putting {and by idiot, I mean me and my talking!  ; ) lol}

On a happier note, it is my 6th wedding anniversary tomorrow.  WOW...I can't believe it's already been that long...sometimes it seems like it has flown by and sometimes it seems like it should be longer! LOL....I'm super excited since we get to hang out and spend the day together and actually get to go do some stuff instead of just staying around the house.   I can't wait to go shopping tomorrow and just have a great time....now let's just hope the stores are ready for me and I can actually find stuff! LOL....Why does it always seem like you find the best stuff (and in your size) when you have no money to really shop....but when you have money and can spend it they have nothing that you like or that is in your size?  It's so frustrating! LOL  So wish me luck! 
 I have finished 16 of my 100 books for this year so not too bad so far.  I figured out that to easily finish my goal in time, I need to read a little over 8 books each month to stay on track.  Well so far so good since it's around the first of March and I'm halfway finished with #17 and #18 for my list.  Everything's been crazy lately or I would probably be a lot farther on this goal!  But I'm proud of myself so far!
I have recently restarted my diet post ice storm and have been doing pretty good.  Most days I have been staying within my calorie range (with the exception of the horrible week last week but hey I know I'm an emotional eater and I was extremely distraught and even though it didn't really help, I still endulged quite a bit) but stress kicked in and I guess evened out the poundage of my overeating because I still managed to lose weight.  I have also been working out at the Simmons Center...not as much as I would like but I've been making myself go at least 4 hours every weekend...I figure if I never excercise all week but can fit in 2 great workouts Saturday and Sunday that helps a lot.  It would be better if I did it more often though and I realize I would get faster results too. I know it's gonna take me awhile to get to what I want to be anyways and the more steady I lose the easier to keep it off for me.  I really have enjoyed running on the treadmill and riding the bike there and lifting (well only once so far! LOL) and swimming when I go though.  Oh and I'm super pumped cause we should be getting my treadmill in a couple of weeks!!!  We gotta get rid of our computer and desk first or at least the desk and move the computer to make it fit but then we'll have one in our home!  There are lots of days I wish we had one because I would make myself workout more often with it.

That's really about all my news or at least all I feel like sharing right now.  Oh and we found out my boss is prego this week too!  She's due at the beginning of November.  She's been trying to get pregnant for almost 2 years now so a big congrats to her!  I know this was long and rambley and probably pretty confusing and unthought out but that's about all for now....hope everyone has a great week!!