Vacation....SO far...

So as I am waiting for my mom to return from getting the oil changed in her Lexi, I figured I would blog about vacation. I know some of you may be wondering how my eating/exercising is going and this is how it has been. Food has been OK. I have been eating a healthy breakfast (usually a banana or cereal). Lunch has been a turkey hoagie from Wawa (may not be the BEST choice, but its better than what I could be eating) and dinner has been touch and go. I've been trying to make healthier choices, although I did have one of my cheat meals (a cheesesteak) last night for dinner. The cardio has been the challenge. Today is the first day where I don't feel jet-lagged, and although I have not made a diligent time to do cardio, I've been trying to walk everywhere I can. I plan on getting lots of cardio in the next couple of days. It is hard to stay on track, especially cause people want to go out to eat and do things but I am trying my best. I do feel very guilty that I haven't exercised yet and kinda feel disappointed with myself. I am enjoying being home with my family though.


So what have I been up to so far? Well on Thursday before I left, I went and experienced my first gay club (no I am not gay, but I have great friends who are and I will go and support them any time: MAKE GAY MARRIAGE LEGAL IN EVERY STATE!! :-)) and boy what a blast it was! It was the first time I felt like myself and I didn't feel self-conscious or ugly. I danced, met some great people and loved that I wasn't judged. Definitely going to go back :-).


I left for PA on Friday, got in around 12:20 am. Went to sleep. Saturday I spent the morning/afternoon at the Reading Terminal Market in Philly with Christa. That place is AWESOME. Tons of unique foods, an experience in itself for sure. Then we headed up north to E. Stroudsburg where my dad and step-mom live. My dad made homemade spaghetti and meatballs (my fav! YUM) and we went out to the casino where I lost money for the first time ever on Roulette. I was bummed. We met up with Christa's friend Lauren and hung out for a bit. On Sunday, we just hung around the house, I went and picked up my rental car, got to see my mom and then Christa headed back to Philly. :-( I had my first ever lobster dinner and can proudly say that I know how to take apart and eat lobster! YAY! Monday, I got to learn how to golf with my dad. That was an exprience in itself, I am left handed and have big boobs. It was challenging to say the least. It was nice to be able to share that time with my dad, whose favorite thing in the world is golf. :-) I learned how to chip and to drive the ball. I want to go again, and MAN am I sore! I feel like I did a whole boxing workout with Brooks!!! Yesterday, I hung around the house, got my nails done (which I needed BADLY) and then went to visit my mom. We ordered my favorite meal (A chicken cheesesteak from Mivajo's) and just hung out. My stepdad is making me a huge cake from scratch and it is tye-dye pink and black!!!! I'm so excited to see the finished product!!! Today we are off to Mystic, CT (me, mom and sissy) til Friday. It should be fun! I promise to blog and post pictures later! Have to run!



<3 Lyss

Can't Sleep so might as well...

Post. :-)

Not sure where this blog is gonna go, so if it's not about weight-loss, you were forwarned! :-)



So I've been thinking alot about going back to school. Crazy right? Not for a change in jobs, cause I love what I do, but in another field closely related. I think I want to be a drug/alcohol counselor on the side. I really relate to that population and find addiction to be fasinating in how it works. I myself have never been a drug addict or alcoholic, I have dated a few, but I also believe that I have an addiction to food, so on some level I can relate. I also work in a school where the majority of my student's parents are drug addicts. I feel that if I can reach out to the adults, I can somehow make life for these kids better, yes yes I know it's far reaching, but something I have really been thinking about. I also have always had an interest in human sexuality and am also considering going back to school for that as well. I think I just miss being in school. I wish I could afford to go to Med School, as that has been my dream since I was a very little girl, but I have enough student loan debt, which makes all of this unappealing as I can't fathom the idea of obtaining MORE debt. Price I paid for putting myself through school. I need to win the lottery damnit!

I am so very excited for vacation. I get to spend quality time with my dad which I love, I am going to Mystic Connecticut with my mom and sister for three days, I get to spend time with my baby cousins one I haven't seen since she was one (she's going to be 4!) and the other I have never met (he's 1). As well as getting to see my Pappy, Aunt and Uncle. I also get to see Danajo and her growing belly with my godson Chance! :-) Kate and Kylie, whom I also have never met, Katie and Makayla who I havent seen since she was very little, and hopefully some other friends and their babies! Everyone has babies! I kinda feel left out of the club, but I know when my time will come I will get to be a mommy, just gotta have patience and faith! I also get to spend lots of time with Christa, including three days in OCMD with Kristy, Lauren and Kristina too! Yay! I miss Philly very much and am looking forward to spending some time in the city! I also have a sister only day planned, now that my sister is 21 and can hang out at all the fun places! Although I will be there for 18 days, it is never enough, and the hardest part is coming back. But I have been realizing that I really wasnt happy when I lived in PA. It's not because of anything in particular, but because I am unhappy with myself. Now that I have started to make changes to make me happy, I am realizing that. It is great to be near friends and family, but I've been gone for so long and on my own, I don't know how I would adjust to that. We shall see. I think people misinterpret me a lot because I am sad sometimes, alot of that is my depression and issues I am working through, but it doesn't mean that I hate my life. My life is very simple, and I like it. I miss the social life I had in Philly, and havent met many people that are comparable to my best friends in PA (there are a few in AZ and they know who they are ;-)).

I can't believe that I am this awake right now. Usually I am ready to fall asleep when I get home from the gym, but I think the shower I took actually woke me up. Hmm. Friday I get to spend the day hanging with Lindsey and the babies watching Twilight and Saturday is Nicole's 30th bday party. I am looking forward to a fun weekend. I only have to work at Best Buy a few more days, and then I will be on my way to Pennsylvania! Yay!

I am currently reading "Love the One You are With" by Emily Griffin the same author who wrote "Something Borrowed" I also read her book "Heart of the Matter". All great books. I highly recommend them. I am excited for the plethora of good movies coming out! I have yet to see Fast Five, Hangover 2 and Pirates 4. I also wanna see Bad Teacher, Friends with Benefits, The Help and Transformers for sure. There is an awesome looking horror movie coming out that I wanna see too. I saw Bridesmaids, LOVED it! Saw X-Men, LOVED IT!, Saw Insidious, that one surprisingly was really good and scary! Also saw Water for Elephants, and although Rob did a great job, the book was much much better. I am really loving my "selfish summer" I really just like being by myself, spending time with friends and not having to worry about anything. I am working just enough to keep me sane and working out pretty much consumes the rest of it.

I am feeling so much better! I am very happy about this. :-) thanks Brooks for giving me a second chance and for being behind me. I would not be able to do this without you. You are seriously one of the best people I know. Love ya my brotha from anotha motha! ;-)

And your current weight is....Second Weigh-In!

So I have lost 3 pounds this week for a total percentage of weight loss of 3.72% whoo hoo! So how has it been going? Pretty well, I'm excited that this week Brooks and I are going to start boxing again (my favorite). I'm finding that I really love the pool, especially after a cardio workout. I bought myself a swim cap and goggles and am going to start swimming laps. My eatings been pretty good, but I find myself with my workout schedule, eating dinner later in the evening than I probably should and it may be affecting my weight loss. I've been back on the fat burner for a few days and seem to be doing OK. A little over a week til I am on vacation and I am very happy about it. I am starting to notice a difference in how I feel, my cardio is getting easier (which means I have to kick it up a notch) and I am starting to feel better about myself which is ultimately the goal. I bought a new bathing suit and for the first time in a long time I feel confident enough to wear it without being self-conscious. This is a HUGE thing for me. You can't see the weight loss too much yet (11 pounds total right now) except for in my middle between my boobs and my big belly. I swear thats where the 11 pounds went, there is like nothing there ha-ha! I am waiting for Brooks to start tracking measurements so we can see the progress that way. My clothes are starting to fit a little better, but I havent dropped any sizes yet. I am OK with that. I know it is going to take a long time, and as long as I continue to lose weight and feel better, I am happy. Nicole has really become my saving grace, especially on those hard days when we both don't feel like working out. We've got each others backs and I am excited for us to complete this journey together. I could not do this without Brooks though, as he is my guide and really makes our time together fun, even if I am whiney ;-) Heather has been awesome too, giving me advice on my food intake, which has been a bit of a challenge in consuming the right amount of calories and eating the good type of carbs. I am lucky to have an incredible support system and I hope I can continue to make myself and them proud. Vacation is a little scary for me, but I have a game plan in mind and will stick to it. I hope I can get my family involved, as we all could use the plan. I go for bloodwork on thursday, and to the dr. next week. I am nervous that I am going to be diabetic, but I will take whatever comes my way. My brother who is 6 years younger than me may also be diabetic, so it is a serious issue in my family and I am lucky for the size that I am that I havent been diagnosed. I have an awesome PA that takes care of me, and I am greatful to have such a wonderful medical team. I'm still struggling with my moods, but that is because I do struggle with depression (I have medical treatment for it) it is due to my hypothyroidism and it makes things a bit challenging from time to time, so if I get upset or post on facebook, please understand that I have mood swings, and facebooking or writing in this blog is my outlet. I dont do it for attention or sympathy, it is simply my way of expressing my emotions. I am not one to write, but I do like to type and that is why I do the things I do. I have gotten to spend some quality time with friends in AZ this summer so far, and I am very happy about that. I am enjoying my "selfish summer" and I feel so much more relaxed and at ease. I'm working at my second job just enough to make some extra cash, with still leaving myself plenty of time for me. Anyways, thank you to everyone that reads this blog and supports me. I look forward to seeing a bunch of you on my vacation!

<3Lyss

It's JUNE!

So it has been a while since I've last blogged. What's been going on with me you ask? Not much, just working out and working a bit at my second job and enjoying what I am calling my "selfish summer". How's the diet been? Pretty darn good, the hardest is when people want to go out to eat and I have to get creative with what I do with that. So far so good. My weight loss was 2 pounds for a total percentage of weight loss of 2.7%. Pretty damn good. I have been having some weird stomach issues, as it may be due to my huge change in diet. So far it has gotten better, but something I will need to keep a close eye on. I go to the doctor the end of this month and I am hoping that my sugar readings will be better than they were *fingers crossed*. I'm definitely feeling better, but man I am exhausted with all this working out. My endurance is getting better and you can start to see some changes in my body. Or at least that is what Brooks tells me. :-) In two weeks I will be on vacation to Pennsylvania! I am very excited about this. It will be the true test when I am there. I promised myself I would try my best to be good. I am going to do cardio every day, to at least keep me consistent for the time I am away. I am looking forward to seeing old friends and spending time with my family. <3


So even though this blog is primarily about weight loss, from time to time I may post things that are not neccessarily related to weight loss. So if you see one of those posts that is why.

I do want to give a shout out to everyone that has been supporting me so far, I really appreciate it! I also need to thank Nicole and Qiana for being my workout buddies, they make working out so much more fun! Also, to anyone that has not been to a Zumba class, I highly suggest it! They are sooooo much fun! Last night I was so into it, I had several girls cracking up in the class. It is the one place where I sweat like a mo-fo but am completely in my own world. It is the BEST hour workout ever. Teddy is the best instructor though and that makes a HUGE difference.


I think I am going to become a Zumba instructor when I am skinny. Yes. I think I would be good at it. :-)

Anyways, its getting late and I have a full day of work ahead of me.

<3 Lyss

P.S. Haters keep on hatin'! ;-)