256 Days Left!!- One Year Dating Anniversary

Yesterday, July 29th, was the anniversary of when Dusty and I made our relationship "official." Along with that declaration came telling everyone at work (including HR), and updating Facebook (because it wasn't official until then). Our families had already known we were dating so they never noticed a change.

To celebrate this anniversary we had big plans to eat all the food we wanted regardless of calories, go to Boone and Blowing Rock and go to Grandfather Mountain and go to the movies. Our plans changed quite a bit thanks to this bride to be getting pneumonia (in July...seriously?) and our procrastination with getting Dusty moved. So instead we focused on being together and on eating, lol.

First we went to Cracker Barrel and had Mamma's Pancake Breakfast which included 3 pancakes, 3 pieces of bacon, and scrambled eggs. Of course our eyes were bigger than our stomachs but we put quite a bit away...mmmm...pancakes! I felt so full afterward that I thought I would puke.

After breakfast we visited The Village Inn and walked around trying to visualize good spots to take our wedding pictures. We left 100% sure that our pictures would be amazing!

We had to go get some paint to match what was in Dusty's apartment thanks to a few poorly removed command hooks (our fault, not the product's) so we headed to Lowe's Hardware who matched the color better than we would have ever thought possible! After we got our paint we walked around and picked out flooring, cabinets, cabinet pulls, sinks, tiles, and more for our future house! Of course we didn't buy anything as a. we have no money and b. we have no house, but it was so much fun. I felt like we were on HGTV about to do a home renovation. I was inspired to create a new pinterest board for the items we picked out (though I could only remember a few) and saved the items to my favorite on our new MyLowes account.

After Lowe's a wrong turn took us to Once Upon a Child where we got Noah a couple of outfits for a decent price before we walked around the mall! The only things we got at the mall were from Starbucks (not that we had much room for it). We then decided to get a couple of slices of pizza from Mario's near Target and to my surprise a slice of pizza from there was like an entire small pizza! It was delicious but so much pizza!

We then took our full bellies to Dusty's apartment where we moved his mom's back seat back into her van, painted some walls, returned Dusty's mom's van to her, met with Stefanie for her to pick up the coffee table and TV we were giving her, did our final walk through (taking pictures) then turned in his keys. As of tomorrow his lease will be completed and he is no longer a resident at Fiddler's Creek Apartments!

We were going to go to the movies that evening before dinner (since we were so full) but I forgot my antibiotics in Beverly's car so Dusty drove all the way to Thomasville while I rested then cooked. I am no expert chef but we made 2-8oz steaks (marinated by McCormick), roasted red potatoes and lightly seasoned cooked corn. Our grill was out of gas so it was all made in the oven and I feel like I overcooked the steak but overall it was very tasty.

To finish out our cheat day/anniversary we ate Coldstone, Dusty had Cheesecake ice-cream and I had birthday cake remix, sinfully delicious. We watched HGTV until my eyes gave out on me and I passed out. Overall it was a very productive and a perfect day for us.

This will however be our LAST dating anniversary. In 256 days we will declare our love for each other in front of family and friends and be blessed with a new anniversary to celebrate.

285 Days to Go! - Dieting

Ah, we have reached that horrible "D" word. Like most women in the world, I too feel that I need to loose some poundage,  as I have for quite a while now, but with the wedding comming up and any future plans to have kids it seemed like a good place to start and stick to it. Since June 3rd Dusty and I have been on a Diet. We are using the MyFitnessPal app from the android market to set our weight goals, record our calories and our excercises. The app is pretty awesome as once you tell it your weight, what you want to accomplish, and how fast you want to accomplish it, it tells you how many calories you are allowed to eat each day. At the end of each day when you "complete your entry" it tells you what you could weigh if every day was like that day (which, on days where you gave up and ate a Baconator for dinner, can be very discouraging).  My goal is to have lost 64 lbs by December 15th (the day I have my first Bridal Gown fitting).

Now, when I first got engaged I was going to try to get in shape, then decided not to because by February (a couple months after my engagement) I had found and purchased my wedding gown which was already a size too big for me. I figured that my fiancee loves me like I am so who else am I trying to impress? On many occasions Dusty and I would have conversations about dieting and how we often fail at it but probably should do it and whatnot. We have access to a health coach at work who gives us advice, gives us someone to talk to and helps set attainable goals. I found that my motivations that were most...well.. motivating were not just the ones that included "because I want to NOT buy size 22 jeans," but rather, "I want to like my wedding pictures," "because being so much overweight will put any children I try to have at higher risk for defects," and "because I want to be able to run around with my kids and not be winded in two minutes." Apparently when you have good reasons to do it, you are more likely to succeed.

Committing to dieting was difficult for me, not just because I was lazy, but because I was scared (and still am). If/when I lose weight, my engagement and wedding rings may not fit me anymore (they are already getting loose). If/when I lose weight, my wedding dress may be more difficult to alter and may end up looking terrible. If/when I lose weight, I may have to use our savings to buy clothes that fit. These things scare me to death, but they are not good enough reasons NOT to do it. SO what if my gown is a little different than when I first tried it on, I am having professionals alter it and they should be able to make it work. My ring set, if it needs to be bought again, is not going to break our bank and clothes, a small price to pay for being healthy for yourself and your family.

We began using the app to record our food intake in May, not setting a goal, just recording to get into the habit. Since officially starting on June 3rd Dusty and I have lost about 10lbs each following MyFitnessPal, taking walks and just paying attention to what we were pumping into our bodies. Have we gone over calories? YES, sometimes by much more than I am willing to admit but it is ok. Dusty keeps reminding me that just paying closer attention to your calorie intake tends to make you make healthier choices, even if you are above your 'goal.'

Dieting is hard, especially when you only have x amount of calories to consume (and that number goes down with the numbers on the scale! 11.5 pounds lost lost me 40 calories every day! Having someone to do it with makes it a little easier, I would have never lost an ounce without Dusty.

DO you have any dieting tips? Any recipies that are low calorie? Any favorite low calorie meals or snacks? Share away!