Awesome Weekend

My weekend started on Friday with Friday Funday!

Friday, after a morning meeting the entire office headed out for an early lunch out in East Memphis. We had a choice of where to eat between a deli and tacos. Of course, I chose tacos.

It was my first time eating at Swanky’s Taco Shop. I ordered crunchy chicken tacos.

They were nice but not the best tacos I’ve ever had. Maybe I should have eaten them slower. I couldn’t though because our office field trip continued… with a movie!

Yep, we went to see the new Avengers movie. Sometimes it’s nice working with a bunch of geeks. ;) I really enjoyed the movie – it was quite funny! After the movie half the office went home and the rest of us grabbed some Ben & Jerry’s ice cream before parting ways back at the office.

Saturday was a busy day for me. I hit up Walmart for some needed supplies like contact solution and then visited some thrift stores for new clothes.

I love thrift stores both for the price and the randomness of the selection. Sometimes I’ll go shopping and find nothing I like and sometimes I’ll leave things at the store I wish I could have bought. It just depends on how lucky I get. This particular shopping trip was extremely lucky because I finally found a maxi dress I liked!

It’s a bit long on me because I’m a shorty but I love it. It’s so vibrant and the colors are awesome. It’s not really anything special but after a long search for a dress I both liked and could afford I’m happy to have found it!

Sunday was spent doing absolutely nothing for the most part. I’ve been a lazy bum to be honest. The two productive things I’ve done were reading the Rebel Strength Guide because I’m thinking about actually doing one of Nerd Fitness’s guides all the way through and cooking some food for the rest of the week.

I’m trying to combat my new tendency to eat out every day (sometimes multiple times a day) since I’ve been here. Maybe having food ready and portioned out will help me make some better choices this week. My body needs a break from the sodium and calorie overload from eating out so much. We will see!

How was your weekend? Have a great week!

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Good News Wednesday

I started today planning to do a What I Ate Wednesday post. Then I was going to do a Wordless Wednesday post. Instead I’m just going to share the pictures from today and then tell you the good news at the end. Feel free to scroll down immediately.

My day looks so much cooler through a bunch of overly processed photos. I see why people like Instagram so much. ;)

So the good news of the day is that my mom’s appointment with her radiation oncologist went well! Since she caught the tumor early it’s only dime sized and she is a great candidate for a simpler surgery and faster radiation. Both of those are outpatient and she doesn’t need any chemo. Hurray!

Basically she got the best prognosis possible in this kind of situation which is a huge relief. Of course this is all dependent on the tumor actually being what they think and no deal breakers popping up, but it’s good news to hear. We were already both feeling pretty positive about the situation which seemed to shock the oncologist. He was super positive (which is good) but it felt like he was doing that to cheer up my mom who was already upbeat about things. It was funny. Anyway, everyone is encouraged and feeling good about the treatment situation which will begin at some point this month with surgery.

It’s still the beginning of this process but it looks like it won’t be as bad as it could be. There will be more doctor bills and the next two months won’t be super pleasant for my mom with the treatments but all things considered that is some great news to hear. Thank you all again for your support!

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It Sux To Be Fat Update

Missing You

I’ve been missing.

I hope you noticed because that means you read my posts on a regular basis.

For the past week, my husband has been working very hard on switching It Sux To Be Fat over to a new server.  In order for this process to go smoothly, I had to NOT post.  It has been very hard for me to not post updates on my weekly weigh in, how my eating is going, new goals for the month, about an important doctor visit and new things I have found.  However, the new server space is going to be so much faster and make navigating through the blog much easier.

So, please be patient and we will reward your patience with a very cool giveaway.  Thank you for your patience and understanding as we improve the site to make it easier for you!

You can stay in contact with me on Facebook.

Photo Credit

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Back On Track

TODAY WAS A GOOD DAY PEOPLE.

Seriously. I feel pretty good about things.

What things? Let me tell you.

I’m back on track.

After finishing LiveFit then freaking out over my mom’s cancer then moving back to the USA I let myself completely derail from the healthy living thing. I wasn’t out there eating twinkies and chugging soda, but I wasn’t paying attention to my food and I wasn’t exercising much at all.

Frankly I felt awful last week because of it. A few weeks of that made me feel just AWFUL.

I can only go so far off track these days before my body screams at me to stop it and treat it better. Better food, more movement, more positive thinking. Those things are the important things to me and make me feel better. It’s important for me to feel good, to feel strong, to feel capable. So I’m shaking off the last few weeks and getting back on track.

That means:

Taking my lunch to work most days. (Started today!)Going for a walk before/after work and during lunch. (Also did today!)Tracking what I’m eating in some way. (Back to MyFitnessPal counting today!)Forcing my thoughts to the positive. (Harder, but I’ve tried today to banish the downer vibes!)

It’s pretty damn annoying to go through this process so many times (and probably more annoying to read for those faithful reader who want to shake me sometimes). You know… I get to my healthiest point and then for whatever reason slide into less than healthy behaviors. Here’s to hoping one day this isn’t something I do anymore.

But for now I’ll deal with the reality of the situation. Taking it one day at a time. Small healthy behaviors lead to bigger changes, right?

Go team Merry Life. (Maybe we need to work on the team name, hehe. Suggestions welcome.)

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All The Other Things

There’s a lot of stuff happening in my life right now that I’m not talking about and might not for a while.

Doesn’t matter though…  I feel good about the things that are happening behind the scenes. Life is good.

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Whatever It Takes

I landed in Memphis Saturday afternoon tired and on the verge of tears. I knew I had to wipe them away fast though because I couldn’t face my mom crying.

As soon as I had a chance after saying hello I asked the question I most wanted to know.

“So, how bad is it?”

I held my breathe as I waited for the answer and a recap of what the doctor had said. I calmly listened and held strong because I know that’s my job here.

A few days before my scheduled departure to Memphis I learned that my mom had breast cancer. It’s hard to sum up how I felt for the first two days that I knew. I was sad and scared before I had a chance to talk to my mom about it. I was then angry and bitter after that because it didn’t seem fair. Then finally I accepted the fact that it was happening and I would go home and help her through it. By the second day there was no other option in my mind than it being a temporary problem to work through together.

My mom has always leaned on me in tough times. We’ve gone through a whole lot together. I’m the rational one in the family, the logical one, the oldest and the only girl so I’m the one she leans on. I feel duty bound to be there for her and actually cherish this position. She is my mom and best friend after all.

A few years ago my mom almost died from blood poisoning. In fact if we had waited just another hour to go to the hospital she might have died. To say it was the scariest event in my life is an understatement. The thought of her being sick again, in a hospital, scares me. I remember that experience and the anxiety creeps into my mind and threatens to strangle all other coherent thought. Cancer now doesn’t seem fair. My mom has had a hard life and a lot of crap has gone wrong when she didn’t deserve any of it. Things were finally going pretty well for her recently until this. I don’t understand it and won’t even try.

I’m pushing my anxiety down and handling things. Trying not to stress already about how to help her pay the extra medical bills piling up (goodness that happens fast!) or how to deal with other difficult family members. Trying not to stress about being distracted at work or being away from Kepa. Trying not to stress about the fact that I can’t live in two place at once and I don’t know which is the right place for the future. Trying not to stress at all because my job here is to be calm and helpful and get her through it as best as I can.  It’s lucky, in a way, that this trip was already scheduled because at least being in the same city means I can’t support her and help in whatever way I can.

Luckily they caught this cancer pretty early we think. She will have to have surgery sometime in May and some sort of other treatments but because they caught it early she has a good chance to beat it even with other health problems she has. YAY, right? She has to meet with a bunch of other doctors first and get a final diagnosis and find out what surgery she needs and whether she whether she will get chemo or radiation (one or the other). Whatever it takes, really. It’s not the end of the world yet. Even if it is expensive and painful and scary, she’ll beat it.

Thank goodness because I’m really not prepared for any other outcome.

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Learn How to Lose 5 Pounds Fast in One Week

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Do you want to learn how to lose 5 pounds fast in one week? You can reduce your weight successfully, but you have to be sincere, patient and determined to change your lifestyle and eating habits. It is certainly not easy to lose weight in such a short span of time because it will take utmost hard work and commitment on your part to achieve your weight-loss target. You need to plan your diet to reduce your weight successfully.

Here is the way to learn how to lose 5 pounds in one week:

A high protein diet can help you in reducing the extra pounds faster. High protein diets have gained tremendous popularity as research says that protein is able to satisfy hunger better than any other fat or carbohydrate. When you eat high quality protein foods, they increase the amount of leucine, an amino acid that help a person maintain muscle mass and increase the fat-burning capacity.

Yes, you can lose 5 pounds in a week by eating high fiber foods. There are many researches to suggest that eating high fiber food keep your body hydrated, full and also help in losing weight. Our body cannot digest fiber so quickly so it stays longer in our system. In an addition, we cannot absorb any calories or fat from it. But, there are many health benefits that we can take from high fiber foods. As you’ll feel full, you will automatically eat less.

If you want to learn how to lose 5 pounds in one week, starts with first step i.e. eat breakfast every day. When you eat breakfast, it reduces the hunger and help you avoiding overeating. You will feel more energy to perform your physical activity during the day. It actually increases your metabolism and causes you to burn more calories throughout the day. Skipping breakfast can make you put on extra weight and tend to cause obesity.

If you seriously want to lose 5 pounds fast in one week, you have to cut down junk foods from your diet. Don’t eat any junk food for the entire week and you’ll find yourself losing weight successfully.

In order to burn off 5 pounds in one week, you need to burn more calories than what you consume. Perform physical activities such as swimming, skipping, jogging to burn more calories and increase fitness level. To lose 5 pounds in a week, you need to burn approx. 2,500 calories in a day.

Image Credit @www.ptweightloss.com

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Brad has written 439 articles .

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Foodie In A Food City

Is Memphis a foodie city? I’m not sure what really categorizes a city as “foodie” or not and you could probably make a case for every city since they all have at least a few good restaurants.

On the way home today my coworker and I were discussing basketball (Go Grizzlies!) and came to the conclusion Memphis is big on three things: food, music, and basketball. That pretty much sums up the city nicely I think.

All I know is I’ve been eating out way too much since I’ve been back.

I’ve eaten out with my friends. I’ve eaten out with my mom. I’ve eaten out with coworkers. I’ve bought meals and had meals paid for. I’ve eaten fast food and at restaurants. I’ve either eaten out or eaten the leftovers for lunch and dinner since I’ve been back. Since I don’t normally eat out much this feels strange and like major overkill.

I know I need to cut down on this and start bringing lunch to work or making myself dinner. I bought groceries the day after I got here and have only really eaten cereal for breakfast so far. Yikes! At the very least I can say I haven’t been snacking or overeating which is a positive, right?

It will come to an end soon since I need to save money and help out my mom too. But for the first week it was nice to have all the things I missed while I was gone!

I guess I’m always talking about food lately because when I created my “what you tweet” infographic it basically called me an upbeat foodie obsessed with my dog.

Okay, maybe they were pretty right. ;)

Follow me on Twitter or Facebook to find out. I’m not crazy into social media these days but I do love the occasional conversation there!

Are you a foodie? Do you live in a foodie city? How often do you normally eat out?

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5 Easy Weight Loss Tips for Vegetarians

In today’s post, I will be sharing 5 easy weight loss tips for vegetarians that deliver fantastic results and suit both women and men. It is very hard for a vegetarian to create a balanced nutrition diet plan, especially in a society that focuses more on meat.

However, there are numerous advantages to being a vegetarian. You can lead and live a healthy life as a vegetarian and stay fit forever. Here are 5 easy weight loss tips for vegetarians to follow in order to lose weight safely and quickly:

1. Protein is very much important for reducing weight and build up muscles. One of challenge that you might face is getting enough protein. There are numerous options such as eggs, dairy products, almonds, seeds, whole wheat products, quinoa, fruits and vegetables that provide your body the required amount of protein. You should start your day with a protein rich breakfast to improve your metabolism and burn weight fast.

2. Soy is another good option for vegetarians. Soy can be eaten in many shapes and forms but many believe that it is not good for weight loss due to its estrogenic effect. Its estrogenic effect actually disturbs body’s natural ability to burn off fat and may slow down the results as well.

3. Dry fruits such as nuts, almonds and seeds are excellent source of protein and even, they also contain healthy fat which is very much important for your health. Don’t think that you need to cut down all fats from your meal in order to reduce weight. It is not true. Fat is also important for our body.

4. Dairy products can also help you to achieve good health. But, you need to choose dairy products meticulously ensuring they do not have high amount of fat. Eat yogurt and other low fat dairy product to get the required amount of protein.

5. Regular workout and gym is also important. Join a gym and become athletically fit. This will help you burn more calories and accelerate your metabolism as well. You should workout at gym regularly. Also, be sure you eat a good amount of protein after every workout.

All in all, aforesaid 5 easy weight loss tips for vegetarians can give you an edge when it comes to losing weight fast as being a vegetarian; you’re less exposed to fast food. Add fruits and vegetables in your diet to stay healthy and fit.

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Brad has written 439 articles .

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Thank Yous and Other Random Thoughts

So this post is going to be a bunch of random thoughts together. You are warned.

Thank You

Thank you all so much for the kind words and support for my mom. She is very important to me and I love her dearly so it’s nice to have the support from all you guys through this rough time. It’s kinda scary especially in the early stage where there isn’t a full diagnosis or treatment plan yet. Once we have more information it will be easier to deal with I think.

Thanks to everyone who offered well wishes and good thoughts and prayers. And for those of you who have been on this journey yourself or with a loved one and beat it? Thanks for telling me and sharing your story. It helps to know others who’ve already conquered this.

It really does mean a lot to have you guys in my corner (and my mom’s). I’ll stop now before I get all sappy about my love for you people.

New Dress

I’m wearing a cute dress today. It was my gift to myself when I got to the US this time. I don’t really buy clothes in NZ because they cost too much so I got this dress at Target for $18.

It’s perfect for work and super comfortable (I’ll take a better picture later). I love the stripes, and personally I think you can wear horizontal strips at any size. Whatevs!

Awesome Lunch

My boss mentioned he was headed to the Apple store and then to Deli Mexicana today. I didn’t need to go to the Apple store but I LOVE Deli Mexicana so a coworker and I headed out there to meet up for lunch.

I love the fish tacos there. LOVE. It’s one of my favorite things to eat in Memphis.

The $100 Startup

Just a heads up, but they are having another one of the Only 72 Hour Sales. It started yesterday but I figured I should still share since it’s going on for another 2 days. Basically these sales are a great chance to get some awesome business training courses at majorly discounted prices. This time you pay $100 for $1,000 worth of business training courses. Plus this time they are including the new book from Chris Guillebeau, The $100 Startup. He is a great writer and very inspiring just like the rest of the contributors. If you are interested in starting a small side business or a blog or in growing a blog then this package is a good idea. It’s nice to have a blog/business that brings in a little bit of income every month especially now when I need to help my mom out. Check out the $100 Startup sale now (disclosure: affiliate link because I usually buy the packages they offer).

Have a great day!

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