Olive Garden

We went to Olive Garden for lunch for Steve's birthday. I knew in advance that we were going so I planned my meal ahead of time. I wanted to "celebrate" so I got a peach bellini which was 170 calories. I got soup and salad, pasta e fagioli if you care to know, which was 250 calories. All in all I had 420 calories while eating at Olive Garden. Before I was eating anywhere between 1290-1510!!!!!!!!!! That is insane to me. I didn't even realize it because I was eating salad, breadsticks with dipping sauce, and mushroom ravioli. I never thought in a million years that would add up to those insane numbers. It's not like I was gorging on alcoholic drinks, tons of food, and dessert. Sometimes finding out what you had been eating prior to "dieting" is just depressing. Especially when you thought you were making "better" choices than you could have been making. There are some dishes at Olive Garden that are over 1000 calories. That just blows my mind. I don't understand why they can't healthify some of these dishes. Insane. So I'm off to the gym and then I am making Steve's requested s'more cupcakes. I love celebrating birthdays!

PS Before Posting this I was totally feeling guilty for eating at Olive Garden. I wasn't until I realized just how well I did and how poorly I could have done that changed that attitude for me. The food was amazing so I guess I just assumed that I did bad even thought I did my homework before going out. Funny how our minds work.

Intervals

I did intervals on the treadmill tonight and I really liked it. I put it on a level three but it was too slow so I just kept upping the speed. I was really proud of jogging at a 4.5 during the speedy part of the interval. On the rather embarrassing side I definitely need some sports bras. Yikes! It said that I only burned a few hundred calories so that was disappointing because I did it for a half hour but hey, it's something. Another day of really good eating so i'm proud of myself. Dinner was fish, quinoa, and mixed vegetables. It was super yummy and wicked easy. I'll  be repeating that one again. Tomorrow is Steve's birthday. This is our last year of our 20s. I'm actually pretty happy about that. I want my 30's to be a fresh start for us and I'll be at my goal weight and living life how I want to by then. Oh! I weighed myself tonight because I was super curious and it said 195.8! Let's hope the scale continues to move in that direction.

Reasons

I was just reading a post on another person's weight loss blog and it really inspired me. What reasons do I have for losing the weight, getting healthy, getting strong? Well here they are:

1. I want to be a positive role-model for my daughter
2. I want to feel good instead of feeling tired and grumpy all the time
3. I want to be able to explore this wonderful world that God has given me
4. I want to feel and be beautiful for my husband and myself
5. I want to inspire others

I have watched The Biggest Loser since the day it aired and wished for the things that they have accomplished. They seem to have achieved all these reasons that I have set for myself. They may have had the ranch but they still had to do a lot of work to get there. That is what I need to remember. There is no magic cure, no "secret", no miracle that will get the results. Only I can do it and I will. I will be posting these reasons all over my house so as to not forget why I am on this journey. I may be doing a 24 day challenge but that is just a small trip in my great adventure that is my life.

Swimsuit

I had Steve take a picture of me for the 24 day challenge in my swimsuit. Let's just say I don't look how I feel in it. I thought that I looked sexy in it but in reality I look like a red whale in it. My legs and butt look atrocious. I need to really focus on them during this challenge. Hopefully I can find some good exercises for them. Hopefully by the end of the challenge i'll feel brave enough to post the pictures. On the positive side today was a good eating day. I also got the apartment completely put together so it feels like home. I really love it here. We went swimming with my nephews and mom tonight and had a ton of fun.