Grad school, GRE's, Volunteering... Insane!

So it is officially FALL!!! I must say that I am waaay excited for fun fall activites and outfits! Amber is beyond excited about all the Pumpkin flavored items at Dunkin. I did have a pumpkin beer with cinnimon and sugar on the rim at Baha the other day. DELICIOUS!!!! Now I get the pumpkin obsession!

Over the past month since I posted anything, things have been insane!!! I had been working hard to finished my grad school application, studying for the GRE's and volunteering once a week at the hospital. BUT I am proud to say that YES, I have completed and submitted my application and taken the GRE's! I took them on October 14th at 9am. The night before I had been extremely nervous and upset (Thanks to Ryan for dealing with me and calming me down!) I walked into the GRE's and immediately started cracking jokes with the proctor, and some of the other girls getting ready to take the test. I think my biggest fear was not being able to bring in water, chapstick, vick's nasil inhaler(which i don't EVER leave home without) and other comforts. I did, however, manage to sneak things into the test in my bra. hahah Oh well. I didn't do as well as the Bridgewater Mental Health Counseling program requires but hopefully they will take into consideration my application and recommendation letters to make up for it!

Now with all that out of the way, I can relax and enjoy the fall! We are planning our first Halloween party and I am soo excited! It seems that everytime I leave the house I come back with a decoration for the house! Holly and I went out searching at JoAnne's for costume stuff. My next step it to soak the fabric and start creating... I am going to be a mummy! Should be AWESOME! I am still working on ideas for Ryan's costume so hopefully I can pull something off.

Yesterday Amber and I went to our very first 'butts and gutts' class! Needless to say, we are STRUUUUGLING today with walking and overall movement! It was a blast and I totally recommend it! Something I do NOT recommend is Smart Ones Shrimp Marinara! The sauce tasted like ketchup and I physically CANNOT get over it!

Well I am going to really focus on hitting the gym this next month so I can look so FLYYYY! (Insert Amber throwing up here! )

Suck me in, Lift me up!

Good Happy Kinda Sunny Tuesday Morning,

Uhg all I have to say is that I really feel discouraged. I am not losing any weight. I have to keep getting it through my head, that the weight does not magically come off! This past week I have been to the gym 3 times. So pumped for that. I even got up at 6:30 am on Saturday and went to the gym!!! Even though my Blackberry Storm was stolen last week at the gym, I am still coming back. This time with less electronics.

Yesterday work was pretty good. I ate healthy and within my WW points. Last night was also "hit Macy's sales rack to find a dress that will fit me" night. We have a wedding this weekend in Rehoboth, MA! I did however find a hot little number, that with the help of some sort of "suck me in, lift me up, Oprah endorsed spanx" situation, we should be good to go! I tired on a couple, but HAAATED all of them. I am going to be on the hunt for the undergarments that were seen on Jersey Couture. Diane the owner of Diane and CO, claims that she is a "booboligist" so you know she's good! Then once that was all set, time to go back to the ball field to watch M&S Cleaning clench the championship spot for next week. Very exciting game and I didn't eat anything bad there either! Whoo hoo!

After work today, I am off to the gym, my new home. I hope I get a good work out in there, then home to paint the dining room with Ryan. Should be a positive day.

Oh and I CANNOT sign off with out talking about Grace's return to the USA!!!! She will be getting in tomorrow night from Guatemala! It should be a busy 2 weeks full of fun, festivities, and beer! Good thing I am motivated to hit the gym on the reg.... :)

Peace out and stay dedicated on your quest to be TRIM IN 010!

Meaghan

Starting over

Happy Monday...

So it turns out that we somehow broke the scale that we are using for our weight loss challenge. I went out an bought a new one, causing the challenge to start tomorrow! Officially! Its also good because so many people were on vacation last week so it can start for real!!

I think we all have something at stake here, something that is pushing us to look our best! I know that one guy has his wedding a couple days after the contests. I personally have 2 weddings (one being his) that I need to look soo good!

I still don't have a crazy concrete plan or approach. Right now I am still rocking Weight Watchers but not doing a SUPER good job at it. The last time I did Weight Watchers I lost like 22 pounds! It was awesome! I really hope to get back into the swing of things.

Speaking of swinging... I finally played golf on a course! Its official, I am a golf super star! The image above is of me and my Golf pro* in the making boyfriend! I think the high light of the day was when I sunk a 30ft putt! It was unreal!

That's all for now! Stay motivated and stay super pretty!

8 Week Work Your Ass Off Weight Loss Challenge!!!

Today the plans are being put in place for the 1st HFOT 8 Week, Work Your Ass Off Weight Loss Challenge!


Several people in the office are throwing in $20 bucks for our 8 week weight loss challenge. The plan is whoever loses the highest percentage of body fat wins all the money! We choose 8 weeks because Rob's wedding in the week after the competition ends.

Here is the official email and rules....


Hard at work? Those company appropriate outfits feeling a bit tight these days? Looking to get super skinny and have bragging rights throughout the office? Want to make people JEALOUS? In need of some healthy competition? Like candy but would looove to be trim in ‘010? Like muffins but HATE muffin tops?

Well you NEED to sign up for our 8 week Work you ass off weight loss challenge! We decided a little healthy competition throughout the office would be fun and MUCH NEEDED! Below are the rules. If you are up for the challenge, let me know. We’ll get you on the sheet and bring $20 bucks on Monday for weigh in. NO CHECKS!

The 8 Week Work Your ASS Off Challenge!

Official Rules
• Start date is Monday, July 26th
• Final Weigh in is Monday, September 20th
• Each contestant puts in $20 to Nicole
• Nicole is in charge of keeping track of the money and weekly weighs in.
• You can lose weight by any non-surgical means necessary (no lipo!)
• You have to wear the same attire you wore at the starting weigh in, at the final weigh in.
• You must remove everything from your pockets! No cheating!
• Photos will be taken at the Start weigh in and the Final weigh in.
• If you are not present on a Monday, you are required to make it up on Tuesday.
• This contest is measured by highest percentage of body fat lost.

(WL/IW) * 100= % of fat lost

IW= Initial Weight
WL = Weight Lost


*You can play dirty, bring in treats, tempt other players, feed them Caltine bars by telling the players they are Swedish weight loss bars.
*No bribing Nicole! We all are focused on dropping some LB’s and getting the grand prize!

It should definitely be an interesting couple of weeks! I am going to try and document this the best I can. Monday is the first weigh in, I will also be taking pictures of everyone so we know what outfits everyone had on.


SIDE NOTE:

The BEST new app for fitness is www.endomondo.com/ I have this app on my blackberry and its great! You keep it on you when you run, walk, ride a bike etc... and it maps your location, the terrain, how long, how far and then uploads it to the site. Its awesome and I suggest you check it out!

ALSO Back on Weight Watchers and its going great! Whoo! http://www.weightwatchers.com/

Happy Finally Friday!

I must say that the pessimist side of me has given up ALL hope of losing weight. But the normal Meaghan is a fighter and looking on the bright side. I just hope the pessimist side doesn't win out! So it has been a pretty wild past couple of days... Get excited because this is where I recap!

Tuesday was the first "Tuesdays with Meaghan" (Play on Tuesdays with Maury) which is the weekly power walk with Amber and our 2lb hand weights! It was a

great walk, we did about 1.66 miles uphill and downhill. Then we wound up watching a movie, Prime, which was really good but super long. Also staring one of my favorite actresses, Meryl Streep!

Wednesday was Casey and Rich's deployment ceremony at Camp Edwards on the Cape. So I was up around 5:30 to get to work for 7am. Worked until 10 then hit the road with Amber and Doreen to head down there.

(Since I am posting this on Monday I can't remember the rest of my week! :) )

Need to get SERIOUS!!!

So it is Tuesday and after this weekend, which was filled with family party food, snacking, beers and the fact i tried on a pair of jeans and they didn't fit.... I WENT TO THE GYM AFTER WORK Yesterday! After work I headed over to Planet Fitness to get my work out on. Did about 25 mins on the tread, at a nice incline and good speed. Then became so OVER being there and left. Once I got home I realized that my new EA Active for the Wii came in!! I am obsessed! I love this fun new game! I was working up quite a sweat with my new personal trainer! Although I haven't completed a full workout yet, I was testing the waters and set up my profile.

There is a really cool feature that includes a 30 day workout to keep you on track! I am excited to get started on that.

This morning, Tuesday, I was up at about 6am to do another workout. Although I was half asleep I worked up quite a sweat! Then I made my protein shake for breakfast and was off to work. *Little update, I still have NOT bought the Reebok Easy Tone sneakers. I guess I am going to wait a bit and then see.* I brought watermelon, peppers, yogurt, sand which (homemade chicken salad) and my NEW FAVORITE THING! Bagel thins!

They are only 110 calories and you still get the BAGEL satisfaction! I am super excited about these! I bought the Everything ones and they are delicious!

Today after work, I am hitting the streets with my best friends, Amber and my hand weights! I am hoping to do about 2 loops on my normal route which will total about 2.66 miles. Then I will complete my first EA Active workout for Day 1 of the 30 day challenge! After that I am working on some research and preparation for the future!!! ;) (Thank God Ryan has basketball so I can all this done!)

The Way I see it... Words to live by from Ryan

1.) Your body needs a shock with a workout. You need to push yourself!

2.) Portion control

3.) Your just lazy

So these are the encouraging words from Ryball! Haha so with all this said, I NEED to lose weight! I just can't take it, I feel like I am literally ballooning up! Its so unreal! The next step will be to sign back up on Weight Watchers! I have also cut back on my medicine in hopes that will regulate the weight gain more.

Hope you have a great and productive day! I hope I DO TOO! :)

Day 11... Top Off Thursday!

Today is Thursday, but it seems like Friday. I am going to call it Fursday. Nope I hate it and I am embarressed I wrote that. Last night we decided to finish off the quahogs we dug for this past weekend. Consider it a challenge. Then we deicded we NEEDED lobsters. So ryan and I bopped down to Stop n Shop (because the Tony's Seafood was CLOSED!) to grab some lobsters. After wrestling outside with the pot and grill and the whole thing, we finally ate around 10pm... AGAIN! I certanly see a pattern here!