Day 27

Hello everyone!

Today is a very special day. My fiance is no longer a teenager! He is now 20 years old! What an old man!

Last night I made him a chocolate cake from scratch and made homemade peanut butter frosting to go on top of it. We also broke up Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and put them in between the two layers of cake. It was fantastic! I also wrote Happy Birthday and the top and decorated the sides. I love decorating cakes, but I don't like the pounds I put on when I eat them!

So, I indulged. It's okay. It happens. I did yoga and strength training, as well as aerobics and balance games, on the Wii Fit yesterday, so that somewhat makes up for the cake. I can really feel the stretch today, let me tell you! Oh my goodness! I will definitely get off of my butt a little more often to do yoga. It's really nice and relaxing, but still stretches and works your muscles. Plus, I don't think I would ever do the Downward Facing Dog on a regular basis. Those muscles NEVER get stretched!

Thanks so much for listening! Make sure you get all of your fruits and veggies today!
Figgy Newton

Day 24

Oh my goodness, it's been too long.

I rebounded. :-( I hate to say it. I'm having a really stressful/emotional/anxious time right now, and, like always, I turned to food to comfort me. It never fails.

Why do we always turn to food for comfort? All it does in the end is make our tummies upset and make us feel guilty. Then that guilt builds on the stress and anxiety that makes you turn to more food, and the cycle continues.

I didn't weigh myself Saturday night. I was so looking forward to it all week, and then I plummeted. Not just dipped in failure, I crashed and burned. Well, like Thomas Edison said, "I didn't fail, I found 2,000 ways how not to make a lightbulb; I only need to find one way to make it work". Try, try again.

And that's where I am. I'm remounting my horse and traveling off into the sunset.

Thanks for reading! 
Figgy Newton

Day 18

Good morning, friends!

Wow, I'm still in awe at the amount of snow falling from the sky. This is unbelievable. Almost as unbelievable as me being able to stick to this plan! I've never been able to follow any sort of diet, but this one is different. I feel like my followers would be let down if I didn't lose weight! That's why I'm continuing without the sweets, without the junk food, and without the soda. I'm being a good eater.

My fiance wanted me to tell you all that I baked a fantastic batch of M&M cookies for our Robotics Team at Leominster High School. My fiance and I go up there to work with the kids and help them design this robot to perform a task, and then take that robot and compete with other teams from around the world. It's a great opportunity, and it's taught me a lot, too! I was able to work one of the machines with my fiance and cut pieces of aluminum for the robot! I felt so accomplished. It almost felt as good as losing 2.2 pounds in 2 weeks!

This is one of those experiences, just like the healthier eating habits, that take me outside of my little cardboard box and out into the big, sunny world. Granted, at the moment, it's simply the great big snowy tundra, but let's not talk about that. I'm picturing Bermuda, and lovin' it.

Well, I am currently eating my trail mix, after having a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios and two clementines, and working up the motivation to read a 30 page chapter in my Pharmacology book. Oh yes.

Stay safe and warm today, and thanks for listening, as always!
Figgy Newton

Day 15 Part 2

Good news friends!

I lost another 0.4 pounds this week! It's not much, but it's something! I need to watch my intake of sweet things. Oh boy.

Thanks for listening!
Elizabeth Sweeney

Day 15

Hello everyone!

Today is the big day! Another weigh in! But the results won't be revealed until 10pm tonight.

This morning I made sure I didn't eat anything awful. I had a nice bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios, and made myself a turkey and swiss sandwich on a Pepperidge Farm Deli Flat. Those are the best for counting calories. The flats are an even 100 calories! So amazing. And whole grain! That lonely little sandwich was accompanied by a handful of baby carrots, one of my favorite crunchy veggies to replace chips.

I'll update you all tonight on my progress! I can't wait to turn on my Wii Fit and have the little scale jump for joy with me! I can feel the weight coming off!

Thanks for reading!
Figgy Newton

Day 14

Hello everybody!

Yesterday in New England, we all went outside and shoveled our little hearts out trying to dig our cars out. Today, we all sit inside waiting for our next dose of ibuprofen. Those snow banks are so high, we can't even see the cars on the road from our front windows. This snow is getting ridiculous.

Anyway, enough of my rant on the weather! At least the shoveling is making me get up and moving and breathing. It has boosted my metabolic rate, and hopefully I've worked off some of my chub. I'm extraordinarily excited about weighing myself tomorrow night! I hope I made my goal of losing three pounds in two weeks!

I work a a grocery store in town, paying my way through college so hopefully that grocery store doesn't turn into my only place of employment. I was checking people out of my line, and looking for a piece of fruit or a veggie that weighed three pounds. I wanted to feel how heavy that really was. Well, then a papaya came through my line, and that did it. A small papaya is about three pounds. If I had to carry that papaya through the store, my arm would start to hurt. It's incredible how much weight we carry around with us every day.

I heard about the weight loss show that did something similar to the papaya. Once the contestants lost about 25 pounds, they were asked to go to the grocery store and pick up a frozen turkey that weighed 25 pounds and carry that around with them while they shopped. That's what they had to carry on themselves everywhere they went in life. It was eye opening for them, much like the papaya was for me.

Anyway, I'm finishing up a banana over here, and I have to finish some homework before going back to that grocery store, so this post will be short and sweet.

Have a great day everyone, and thank you for listening!
Figgy Newton

Day 13

Good morning to everyone!

I have been lazy keeping up with my blog, however, I have kept up with eating properly. I make sure that I have at least one fresh fruit every day, have veggies with my dinner, and get hungry before I eat anything.

My goal for the day: Drink as much water as the average person is supposed to. 8 cups is the recommended amount.

Thankfully I have a snow day today, but I must go shovel! Welcome to New England. I will talk to you all tomorrow!

Thanks for listening!
Figgy Newton

Day 9

Hello everybody!

Great news! Last night I weighed myself, and I have lost 1.8 pounds over the course of the week! I was so excited, I started jumping around the house! I couldn't believe it! This is just more motivation to keep watching what I eat. These results came about without any added exercise, either. I still sit on my butt and read my textbooks and cross stitch. I love it!

I feel so accomplished. I'm off to eat my Special K and grapefruit. And read my Pharmacology textbook.

Have a great day, and stay warm!
Figgy Newton

Day 7

Good morning!

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to start my Health and Nutrition class at college, and I had to read the first chapter before my next class on Tuesday. I learned so much about the diet, it's not even funny. Most of the tips for a good diet are really great for everyday health, weight loss oriented or not. The five things to remember about diet are:

1. Variety: To ensure that our bodies are receiving the correct amount of nutrients, and also to weed out any sources of bad food, our diet should be varied. That means don't have the same exact meals every single day. It's best to have the same meal two weeks apart. It is difficult to plan meals for this, but once a routine is set, it's relatively easy to stick to
2. Moderation: If you want a slice of cake, eat a slice, not the entire cake. Enough said.
3. Calorie Control: 2,000 calories a day is the average person's ideal calorie intake. However, due to stature, pregnancy, body weight, the total amount of calories could be higher or lower. 2,000 is by no means set in stone.
4. Balance: If you have fruit, have veggies, too. Do not solely eat fruit. All food groups work together to keep us healthy and energized. The most balanced and varied the diet, the happier and healthier the person.
5. Adequacy: Everyone must keep water, vitamins, minerals, protein, fat, and sugars in their bodies. Your food must consist of good sources of iron, calcium, potassium, and other vitamins and minerals. Vitamin supplements are okay for an on-the-go lifestyle, but nothing compares to the vitamins and minerals in raw fruits, veggies and nuts.

This was my first class of Health and Nutrition. I'm sure I'll be quoting it much more in the future as well!

So today I decided to have one of the grapefruits I bought at Wal Mart with a slice of toast and two scrambled eggs. Then I wondered why so many diets were based around grapefruits. I mean, if a little banana has 400 calories in its entirety, how many would a grapefruit have?

Well, come to find out, grapefruits are surprisingly low in calories! Only a measly 74 for one cup of the fruit itself and the juice that comes with it. Amazing! They truly are the diet fruit! Except not for those Atkins people out there. It also has a whopping 18g of Carbs, and 16g of Sugar. Ouch. But on the up side, very good Vitamin C, good amounts of Vitamin A, and a tiny little bit of iron. Great stuff!

So the count goes on today. So far, my breakfast of two eggs, slice of toast and grapefruit leaves me at 314 calories, all with a total of 15g of protein. I think I'll have a cup of 1% milk between now and lunch, but that breakfast really filled me up. I love my eggs!

Thank you so much for listening, as you do every day!
Figgy Newton

Day 6

Good morning!

Today is a great day. I'm back in school now and walk by the fried food and coffee and donuts and muffins, but I don't flinch! I have my flat bread PB&J, an orange and Wheat Thins for lunch. Even though my friend sits here chomping away on her lemon poppy seed muffin, I will not cave. I have a wedding to attend!

Yesterday I didn't have time to blog. However, I remembered to take a picture for my slideshow to mark the end of my single life. I also took a trip to Wal Mart. Since it was my first day of school, I had to stock up on binders. In addition, I took a stroll through the produce department and picked up Light Bleu Cheese Dressing, a whopping 35 calories per 2 Tablespoons, garlic and cheese croutons, another 35 calories per serving, a bag of organic Spring Salad mix, another 35 calories per serving, and three oranges and two grapefruits, all for about $8, so anyone who says that it's expensive to eat right is totally wrong. That will all last me for three days or more. Granted, Ramen Noodles are less expensive, but how do you feel after eating that? Even after Day 6, I feel more energized and have begun to be less out of breath when tackling several staircases.

I'm very excited to weigh in on Saturday. That is one of my main goals. I want to have an accurate weigh in at the same time every Saturday night. That way my body will be relatively the same every time. I hope I've lost at least a pound! I don't want to be discouraged!

I'd also like to know some of your stories. Do you have an inspiration or success story? I'd love to hear from you!

Thanks for listening, as always!
Figgy Newton

Day 4

Good morning!

Today is the fourth day of my weight loss challenge. Yesterday went well, just barely making under 2,000 calories for the day. I have discovered that plain oatmeal is a godsend in its ability to fill you up with a measly 100 calories. It's incredible.

Today, so far, I have had a 100 calorie bowl of oatmeal and a half of a 400 calorie banana. I never knew bananas had so many calories, and I'm so glad I googled the nutritional facts when I was only halfway through the banana, not after I had eaten the whole thing! I'm saving the other half for lunch. I will also consume some mandarin oranges between breakfast and lunch. Those are a favorite of mine. They're so delicious and satisfying.

I'm staying the course! Although I didn't take my picture yesterday. I'm attempting to take my picture everyday so I can eventually put them all together into a movie and watching my weight slip off. That's the goal, at least.

Thank you all for listening! Have a wonderfully, snowy day!
Figgy Newton

Day 3

Good morning, everyone!

I sit here, munching away on my plain oatmeal with just the tiniest pat of margarine added to it, thinking how hard this is going to be. My challenge just dawned its third day, and already I'm having trouble. The homemade blueberry muffins are calling to me from the counter. The biscotti has practically grown legs and walked itself to my plate. The chocolate chip cookies in the freezer are begging me to end their freezer burn and put them out of their misery. This house is so full of temptation, but I'm the better woman. I will sit here and listen to them, sympathize with them, but I will not give in. I've given in too many times in my life. I won't do it this time. So there. Take that, sweets. I win.

So today's goal is to drink as much water as I can and pee a lot, while eating lots of fruit and veggies. That's a very good, natural way to cleanse the body. Some people take it to the extreme and only eat vegetables all day, every day for a week. I don't think that's too healthy for you, just sayin'. I plan on polishing off that leftover ravioli for lunch. Mmmm mmmm mmmm..... I can't wait.

I'll have to admit, since I'm being honest with all of my readers, I caved in yesterday. My sister-in-law was making a rainbow cake, so I helped her frost it and decorate it. In the process, I ate some. Eek! You caught me. I snuck in sweets. But then my fiance came to the rescue and ate half of the dreaded cake, which saved me from half the calories. So I only had half of a small slice of cake. Not too bad. I think I went over my caloric count of 2,000 by about 200 calories. Not the end of the world. You gotta live a little.

Well, I'm starting my day off with a measly 120 calories and 4 grams of protein. That'll last me to snack time with some mandarin oranges. There we go. I'm starting my day off right.

Thanks for listening everyone! Hope you all have a beautiful day!
Figgy Newton

Day 2

Hello everybody!

Today I went out to eat twice! Oh my goodness. I went with my family to Friendly's for breakfast, where I had a simple two eggs over easy, two sausage links, and two pieces of sourdough toast. It wasn't wonderful for the trying-to-be-slimmer girl, but life has its curve balls. I then went to Applebee's to pick up lunch for my wonderful fiance. He went with a fried chicken basket and buffalo chicken wings, along with a large caramel frappe and Cherry Cordial Hershey Kisses for a sweet ending. I went with Florentine Ravioli with Chicken and a side of water. After gorging myself on breakfast, I could not find the energy to shovel all thirteen hundred and twenty calories into my pie hole, so I decided to save the other roughly 500 calories for lunch tomorrow. Goodness.

My calorie total stands at 1420, after polishing off eight and a half crackers topped with port wine cheese. Not too bad for day 2, but after dinner with the in-laws tonight, I could be over my limit of 2,000 calories a day. I think I'll steer clear of the bread and butter. That's my weakness.

My new goal for dropping 20 pounds is buying a nice new pair of jeans that will fit me. I'm crossing my fingers that'll happen in two months!

Thank you all for listening!
Figgy Newton

Day 1 Part 2

Hey there, everyone!

I have a correction. I do not weigh 250 pounds; I am currently 230.2 pounds. I just had a chance to weigh myself. That was the fastest 19.8 pounds I have ever lost or will ever lose. I love it.

So far, my diet has consisted of Strawberry Special K with 1% milk, a roast beef and pepper jack sandwich with flavored pretzels for lunch, mandarin oranges for a snack, one chocolate chip cookie, four pieces of biscotti, an iced mocha coffee with extra extra, a white chocolate and macadamia nut Luna bar, and a can of pineapple chunks. So far, that's about a grand total of 1,500 calories. As I type, I realize how much chocolate I eat. That shall be added to the No Go List. However, a nice, small chunk of dark dark dark chocolate isn't always a bad thing. Cocoa is incredibly good for your chompers.

I'm famished, so I think I shall dig in to a nice, healthy, lightly dressed green salad with sunflower seeds, raisins, and cheese. This should bring me up to about 1,800 calories. The cheese and dressing really do you in.

Thanks for listening!
Figgy Newton

Day 1

Hello to all!

My name is Figgy Newton, and I have a mission. I'm engaged to be married in 154 days, and I'm overweight.

My plan is to take my picture every day up to the wedding and watch the weight slip off.

In order to do this, I plan on cutting back on the calories, evading the tempting restaurants, and sitting up until I can't sit up any more.

I currently weigh about 250 pounds, and I am five feet five inches. I've wrestled with weight gain and loss all my life, and I'm finally ready to tackle it head on.

Thank you for reading, and I hope this inspires you.
Figgy Newton