A Fabulous Female's Transformation

...cold blooded, hot gossip...

2008-05-23T14:34:00.002-04:00

Today I had a realization while searching my kitchen for something to eat. I wanted to have a small lunch because I'm having a large dinner with my parents tonight, so I was just looking for a couple little foods. I decided on some Yoplait yogurt and a Nutri-Grain bar. I happened to look at the ingredients for the yogurt and was shocked to see that there was high fructose corn syrup in it! Of course, this made me look at the ingredients for the bar and it was in there too. It made me feel like my choices were less healthy than I thought, but then I reminded myself that high fructose corn syrup is rampant in food these days so it wasn't that unusual. I'm still trying to be healthier though, so I don't think I'll be buying either of these things again.

I haven't really paid much attention to it before, but seeing this ingredient in my low-calorie options made me want to start monitoring my high fructose corn syrup intake. I looked online for tips on how to avoid it and got answers such as, "Avoid fast food" (I already do that!), "Buy more fresh fruit", and "Stay away from full-calorie soda" (I do that too). I also found that Kashi makes a granola bar that doesn't contain high fructose corn syrup, so I'll be buying them instead of Nutri-Grain from now on. I know it's unreasonable to think I can cut it all out because I'm not willing to go vegan or anything, but I definitely want to control my intake as much as I can.

...I've had the time of my life...

2008-05-22T16:28:00.005-04:00

The past week has been good. Yesterday, I allowed myself to eat 6 freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies and did NOT let myself feel bad about it later. I know that if I start letting myself feel like a failure for having little indulgences every now and then, I'll end up beating myself up over almost everything I eat that's not salad or grilled chicken. I just had a bowl of Raisin Bran for lunch (I do believe that it's ok to eat cereal for lunch or dinner) and I'm thinking about having a sandwich with some tomato soup for dinner. I love tomato soup!

I started doing my Body by Glamour strength exercises and ouch! So, I thought I'd post pictures to give you an idea (I told you this was coming).

So far, this move hurts me the most. It's called the single-leg squat and makes my knees ache and my hamstrings feel like they're going to call it quits.

The first day I did them, I could only do 6 or these on each side (you're supposed to do 10). Yesterday, I did them again and made it to 10. And I actually don't ache too badly today. I think this means that I'm not horribly out of shape exercise-wise, since I was still walking a lot even when I wasn't trying to shape up. My legs are still fairly toned. It's the rest of me that needs the work!

Today, I'm hopping on the elliptical for 25 minutes of cardio. I have to do this before 8PM because the season finales for Ugly Betty and Grey's Anatomy are tonight!!

...going back to basics, where it all began...

2008-05-15T19:03:00.011-04:00

So, I am fully aware of the fact that I haven't written since January when I said that I was going to start blogging again. Why is this, you may ask? Well, it's partly because I am a bad blogger sometimes, but mostly because Ty lost his job, I had too-busy semester of college, and our internet did not work for several weeks. However, Ty now has a new job, I'm done with the semester, and I fixed our internet a few days ago (that's right, I fixed it, not the people at Brighthouse Networks who are supposed to be able to tell you what the problem is).

I decided to start blogging again in honor of the first curvy woman to win America's Next Model. Well, not really in honor of, but I thought it was a good time to start up again. And I think it's awesome that she won, despite the fact that she's a size 8 and I don't think people should be calling her plus-size. I was a size 8 at my happiest (and healthiest) weight and not once did I consider myself plus-size. I mean, I still bought smalls and mediums in the juniors' section. But, I guess I have to consider that it IS the modeling industry.

I will not lie; I have gained 10 pounds since I last wrote. Going through a few weeks where we had no income was no walk in the park and I did nothing but worry, sit around (and study), and eat meals at other people's houses because we had no groceries. I'm not upset with myself over the 10 pounds because with the way I felt, I'm surprised it wasn't more. But, things are better now and I'm picking myself up and getting back to business. I'm doing the Body by Glamour workout plan again, so I may even post pictures of the scary strength training moves I have to do! Fun! Also, our elliptical machine is fixed. Yay!

I'm trying to lose the 10 pounds I gained (or at least some of them) before a friend of mine gets married at the end of June. I have to buy a new dress and I'd really like it if I was able to go shopping for one a little lighter and a little more toned. I realize mountains are not going to move in a month and a half, but I'd welcome any progress. I think I'm going to go shopping at Torrid for my dress because it will be the place least likely to make myself feel bad about myself (you know because I feel bad when I love a dress only to find out that it doesn't come in a size big enough for me) and because they have cute dresses!! I'm looking at their website and here's a few I like.

...been around the world tonight...

2008-01-03T17:52:00.000-05:00

OK, so I haven't updated my blog in a very long time. This is because life got pretty hectic and I had some family issues. My fiance`'s brother got divorced (well, is in the process anyway) from my childhood best friend. Yeah, they got married in July of 2006 and it really messed up our friendship. It's such a long story, but it was hard on me when they seperated because she was a mess, but I couldn't take sides. Anyway, the divorce is in the process now and my involvement in the situation is over. All this was going on during the busiest semester I've had in college so far. I came out of it with straight As (*does a little happy dance*), but I was so bogged down with assignments that I had little time for anything else. The "free" time I did have was spent learning music and choreography for my contemporary ensemble class.

Anyway, I'm back now. I still weigh what I did when I stopped writing. I lost a little weight (we're only talking about 4 or 5 pounds) during the semester, but have gained it back over the holiday season. Another detriment to my weight loss was the fact that our elliptical machine broke about a month ago. I was exercising away and suddenly one of the foot rests came loose and hit the ground. It was not a pleasant experience, but I wasn't really injured thankfully. We just bought a new exercise bike though and will be purchasing a treadmill in the next few months also. For the meantime, I'm just doing some good old-fashioned walking for my exercise. Not to mention, my silly dance "aerobics" that I do from time to time when no one is home but me.

Since things have calmed down in my life, I'm getting back to the weight loss experience. I'm hoping this new year holds great things. I graduate community college with my AA degree in the summer and we're moving out of our apartment into a house (rented, but still) when our lease is up. I'm making the achievement of my goals part of the great things that are going to happen.

...just because I like to sip champagne doesn't mean I'm afraid of the rain..

2007-08-09T21:16:00.000-04:00

I may not have talked about it on this blog yet, but I am a bride-to-be. I've been engaged since December of 2004 (yeah yeah, spare me the, "What the heck is taking so long?!" speech...we're paying for the wedding ourselves) and the date is tentatively set for May 2009. I'm not really trying to lose weight for the wedding, it's just an added bonus that my body is going to look smokin' on The Big Day. Anyhow, like most soon-to-be-married women, I spend a decent amount of time on the Internet browsing floral centerpieces, invitations, ridiculously priced reception menus, and of course, bridal gowns. Today in particular, I was looking through the photo gallery on http://www.theknot.com/ and came across this picture:

WHY is this woman wearing a wedding dress? She certainly doesn't look happy about it; not at all like a blushing bride. She looks like she should be down at the Micky D's, stuffing Big Macs in her mouth at a record breaking speed. Seriously, just looking at her makes me want to eat something FOR her. I just don't believe this is an attractive way to model wedding dresses. That dress may actually have some shape, some flair...but it's completely lost on this woman with no curves in sight. It is, of course, a high fashion designer dress. The pictures for David's Bridal and Alfred Angelo feature healthy, smiling women who look great in the dresses. What's so wrong with that? Isn't this putting out a message that says, "If you can afford to look at designer wedding dresses, then you must thin as a board"? And why would you not make the woman wearing the dress SMILE?? Ugh.

...if you leave, don't look back...

2007-08-06T15:22:00.000-04:00

I'm feeling slightly sore again due to the fact that I just did my strength exercises. But I've actually began to like the worn out and somewhat achy feeling that I get after intense exercise. It makes me feel strong and healthy!

So, an update on the Body by Glamour strength exercises that I blogged about several days ago. The scary side bendy move isn't SO bad. I can do it successfully, even though it took me a bit to figure out how to get my hips off the ground (I wasn't putting my arm in the right place). But I have discovered the REAL killer of the group. It's called the Bulgarian split squat and it looks like this:

Supposedly, I should be able to do two sets of 12 of these split squats. I CAN do 12 on the first set, but I can only do about 5 or 6 on the second set. They hurt like crazy and my foot that's "resting" on the chair doesn't always want to stay still and I bobble a bit. However, I'm making progress with it because when I first attempted it, I could only do about 8 or 9 reps total.

I have decided that popsicles are one of my new favorite things. I just had a banana pop, only 40 calories, and it completely diminished the sweet craving I was having. Yay!

...that mountain you're trying to climb is just a grain of sand...

2007-08-04T22:15:00.000-04:00

I decided that I am boy-cotting the scale. I will not weight myself every week anymore and I probably won't weigh myself very much at all. This was brought on by the fact that I weighed on Friday morning and my stupid scale told me that I had gained 4.5 lbs. This after a week of eating right--no cheating--and exercising every day but one. I KNOW that I did not gain 4.5 lbs. I most definitely should've lost. The scale isn't the best and I know it was wrong, but I still felt bad about it all day and it was reflected in the way I ate. It even ran over into today. After I had such an amazing week and I was feeling so great, I let the incorrect number on the scale drag me down. So no more defining myself as a number. I'll let the way my clothes fit and the way my body feels do the talking.

By the way, I went to my soon-to-be mother-in-law's house for dinner last night and I tried on a shirt to wear that hasn't fit me since I went into the 160s and it fit! So I wore it over there and felt good. This also backs up the fact that I know I didn't gain weight! The stupid scale said I weighed 166.5 lbs, which is more than I've been in several weeks!

I feel icky today...I ate a little too much. But, tomorrow is a new day. I let myself get down in the dumps for a couple days and now it's back to work. I'm going to get on the elliptical tomorrow afternoon and do a good session to get myself motivated again.

...the ups and downs liven up the ride...

2007-07-30T14:38:00.000-04:00

Jeez, I haven't blogged in over a week. I've been studying for my summer finals and finishing up last minute papers. Tomorrow I take my Physics II final and then I'm done for a month! Fall semester starts August 27th.

So, as some of you know, I'm doing the Body by Glamour plan and I just started month 2, meaning I got new strength workouts. They make me want to cry and I haven't even done them yet. Here's an example of the torture:

Look at that woman! Her legs are like toothpicks! I'm sure this very scary side bendy move is a cakewalk to her. But I have substantial hips and thighs that actually touch, so I am frightened. I'll give a status update on the scary side bendy move (and other strength moves that actually might not hurt me) in an upcoming post.

A friend of mine who I met through a person I no longer speak to (it's a horribly long story, but unfortunately that person is my childhood friend who married my fiance`'s brother...) is coming to stay with us for a couple days. Her name is Janet and she's a foreign student; her country pays for her to go to college over here. She was attending college in Miami, but she's transferring up here to go to UCF and her apartment won't be ready for a couple days. I've been cleaning our apartment like a maniac, which is interesting when you have three Chihuahuas trying to circumvent everything you're trying to do.

Anyhow, I'm off. Keep up the great work everyone!

...I'm hooked on a feeling, I'm high on believing...

2007-07-20T13:41:00.000-04:00

It's weigh-in day! And I lost 2.5 lbs! YAY ME! I'm so excited that I had a good loss. Last week, I was really down that I had done so well with my exercise but still gained a pound. This week, I watched what I ate a little more (absolutely ZERO fast food) and kept it up with the exercise and I saw awesome results. I even resisted the frech fries that Ty brought home for himself last night after work. I had a Diet Coke and a fudgesicle while he chowed down on his Whopper and fries. It ended up making him feel stomach sick anyway, which made me even more glad I didn't eat any.

We went to Olive Garden for lunch today and I had linguine with marinara sauce. It was a yummy lunch that I don't feel bad about at all. I actually enjoy eating healthy. I just have to get past the voices in my head that say, "Ooh, those cookies look good!" and "Don't you want to eat that double cheeseburger?" first. After I eat, I still feel just as satisfied and not weighed down. It's a good thing.

Also, I'm conquering the stress eating. We're in the process of buying a new car (a 2000 Lexus RX 300) from one of Ty's co-workers, so we're going through the loan process and switching the tag and title and insurance. It's a rather stressful time, with taking on the new car payment and all. Plus, we're still saving money for the wedding. But, I'm not consoling my money stress with chocolate and pizza. I'm exercising the tension away!

All I know is there's 2.5 lbs less of me today and I'm keeping up the good work!

...here I stand, six feet small...

2007-07-19T14:34:00.000-04:00

I feel SO sluggish today. I'm slightly moping and very weighed down. I think it may be because it's cloudy outside and I didn't sleep well last night. I had strange dreams about taking Physics II tests. Ugh. I NEED to be done with that class. It's haunting me in my sleep!

I'm slightly cheered by the fact that I'm doing so awesome this week. I KNOW I'm going to get on that scale tomorrow and see some results. There's no way I couldn't. I haven't eaten one bad thing (yesterday, I even picked a Veggie Delight Sub from Subway over yummy goodness that I won't mention from Wendy's) and I've done all my exercise. Well, I haven't exercised today yet, but the day is young. I'm about to get up and do my strength exercises after my SlimFast shake settles in my tummy.

In other news, I'm very excited that both Katherine Heigl and T.R. Knight from Grey's Anatomy got Emmy nominations. They play my favorite characters on my favorite show and it makes me happy. =)

...people are people so how can it be...

2007-07-17T14:33:00.000-04:00

Today I had a weird, almost panicky, feeling about what it's going to be like when I'm in shape. This was strange for two reasons.

I've been in shape before, so therefore I know what it feels like. It feels good, makes me feel confident. I can wear all the cute clothes in my closet. I only wear t-shirts to the gym and MAYBE to clean the house (if I clean the house, which is rare). I don't look at other women in the room and compare their size to mine. Which brings me to reason #2...
It made me realize that I spend so much time obsessing over my weight (like comparing my size to all the other women in the room...and I'm a full-time college student, so most of the other women are bordering on size 0) that I don't know what I'm going to do when I don't have that to worry about anymore. I mean, I KNOW I will find other things to worry about. But, jeez. I have to stop defining myself as a number on that stupid scale. In shape or not-so-much in shape, I'm me. I've been me all along, skinny or fat.

I think this was a good revelation. I always tell other women that they need to be happy with their bodies and learn to appreciate their shapes, but I guess I've never really been able to grasp that concept myself. I've hated my hips ever since they arrived on my body around age 16, which was as soon as I stopped dieting like a mad woman. I was horrified that I went from a size 3 to a size 5 in jeans (I hate Teenage Me when I think that I was actually annoyed to be a size 5...I was a size 9 by the end of my senior year, which is what I hope to get back to now). But, my hips will never go away; they're like a family tradition. So, ok genetics. I give in. I have hips and I will NOT be afraid of them anymore!

...some hearts have the stars on their side...

2007-07-16T15:29:00.000-04:00

I had a good body day! Yay! You know, one of those days where you just think you look totally fabulous? That was me today. I actually didn't drag myself to class in a t-shirt; I put on a black tank top with jeans and hoop earrings and was proud of myself. The sun felt so good on my shoulders and it was nice to feel confident. Like I said a few posts ago, a little bit of healthy goes a long way.

Aunt Flo is visiting this week and I'm not looking forward to doing my strength exercises. The LAST thing I want to do right now is squats...jeez. I will summon up my motivation and push through it successfully, I swear.

I adore this article over at Fitness Fixation: http://www.fitnessfixation.com/?p=392#more-392. And I'll leave you with that.

...I think of you whenever I get down...

2007-07-15T22:12:00.000-04:00

I'm officially addicted to Nintendo DS. Yes, I know it's sad. I am a 21 year-old woman who is studying to be the teacher of future astronauts, doctors, secretaries, and artists and I can't stop playing Animal Crossing: Wild World. And let's not even go there with the mini-games on Super Mario Brothers. Oye.

I'm stepping up my exercise starting this week. I've had two good weeks of cardio three times a week and I'm going up to four times a week now. I'm also doing strength exercises three times a week, but if I did anymore of that right now, my muscles would eat me again. I had a yummy fudgesicle for a snack tonight and it made me feel so much better than ice cream would have. I'm proud of myself when I make smart food choices; hopefully, it'll just become habit pretty soon and I won't have to even think about it.

I have Physics II class in the morning. Oh. I'm. So. Excited. Can't you tell? I take my last test (excluding the final) on this Thursday. How I ever thought I could be a Pharmacy major is beyond me...I don't even like science that much. I'll be so glad when that class is over.

I'm off for now.

...don't you think that maybe it's time...

2007-07-13T13:47:00.000-04:00

I am currently jamming out to some Pat Benatar ("You're a heartbreaker, dream maker, love taker...") and it's making me feel like I'm living in the past. Pat Benatar was a favorite of 14 year old me.

So, I gained a pound this week. I was kind of expecting it because even though I kept to my exercise schedule, I also ate Wendy's and Burger King AND I did have some of that luscious chocolate cake. It was a good week exercise-wise, but a bad week food-wise and apparently, the two did not cancel each other. The food overcame the exercise and resulted in another pound on my body. I'm not going to get too down about it though. I recognize my mistakes and I'm moving on from there.

I signed up for my classes for the fall semester. I'm taking Educational Psychology, Humanities Renaissance & Baroque, College Trigonometry, Mythology, Introductory Sociology, and Contemporary Ensemble. I'm so glad I decided to change my major. Pharmacy was just not working for me. I've always wanted to teach and I'm glad I'm going into it. I was so worried about the money before, but now that Ty has a good job with serious money-making potential, I'm free to make the right career choice for me.

I forgot about the song "My Clone Sleeps Alone" by Ms. Benatar. Interesting.

...all she wants to do is dance...

2007-07-10T14:03:00.000-04:00

I'm having a very healthy eating day and it makes me feel SO GOOD! So far, I've had a Fiber One Bar, a ham sandwich with thin-sliced ham, and a little bit of Cool Whip Free because I needed some sugar. I'm just happy I didn't eat the luscious cake that is STILL in my fridge...I'm hoping Ty will finish it off today. I'm going to do my strength and cardio exercises pretty soon.

I've noticed that even though I just started trying to (seriously) improve my lifestyle a few weeks ago, I already feel tons better about myself. I mean, I've only lost a pound so far, so I technically don't look any different (although I swear my thighs look a little more toned), but I feel better in my clothes and I look at myself positively when I stare into that mirror. There's no more, "God, you're so fat, what's wrong with you?" or "I guess it's another day of wearing a t-shirt". Instead, I smile at myself with the knowledge that I'm working hard to improve what's on the outside and it makes me a better a person on the inside. This is something I'm doing for MYSELF, which, in my world of college, three puppies, and a live-in fiance`, doesn't happen a whole heck of a lot.

Today is a good day in weight loss world for me!

...forget all your troubles, forget all your cares...

2007-07-08T23:02:00.000-04:00

Unfortunately, I made a cake yesterday. I told my mom a few weeks ago about this cake I made called a Turtle Cake and she wanted to try it, but I had taken it to Ty's mom's house for dessert one night. So, I made another one for her and now there's a luscious chocolate cake in my fridge right now and I SO WANT to eat it. I will not eat the cake, I will not eat the cake...I will eat a fudgesicle instead.

I didn't exercise today, but I'll get back to it tomorrow. I'm actually really enjoying exercising now. I look forward to getting on the elliptical and rocking out to my exercise mix. It makes me feel good and a lot less stressed, at least while I'm doing it. It's a chance to forget about all my troubles for awhile.

...I'll keep you my dirty little secret...

2007-07-03T14:57:00.000-04:00

In case you haven't noticed quite yet, all my blog titles are song lyrics because I know a lot of songs, but I have trouble thinking of idea for blog titles.

I started doing the strength workouts for Body by Glamour today and OH. MY. GOSH. I feel like my muscles are eating me. My thighs feel so tight and so sore. I can only imagine how I'm going to feel tomorrow morning, when I have to get up and do an elliptical session. *sigh*

I ate well today, but I need to start eating more things with fewer calories. For instance, I ate a Stouffer's meal for dinner, which cost me about 930 calories. I could've had a lot more food for that. I need to make a list of things to buy at the groceries store to help me eat more things that are better for me. I HAVE to buy lettuce. I'm going to start making salads to eat when Ty's not home for dinner and I don't HAVE to feed him meat.

All my muscles are hurting and it's making me feel puffy. For instance, it's hard to contract my stomach because my lower "abs" hurt, so my stomach feels all huge. I know it's going to benefit me greatly in the long run though.

I went back and read through my "diet journal" that I started in January of 2006. I weighed about 140 lbs then and I kept complaining about how big I was. I would LOVE to be back at that weight. I'm mad that I let myself gain this much weight, when I said I would never go back up to the weight I was before I lost 17 pounds. I now weigh more than that. But, I'm doing something about it. For real, this time. Not like when I started that journal and didn't lose hardly anything for the whole 6 months that I wrote in it.

...I just need a little of your time to say the words I never said...

2007-06-30T20:34:00.000-04:00

I did an AWESOME session on the elliptical trainer today. 25 minutes and 445 calories! It felt so great. I put on the soundtrack to Step Up and away I went. I really do enjoy exercising once I'm doing it.

I'm still in my food phase of just trying to be aware of what I'm putting in my body. For instance, I did eat key lime pie today. But, I am now drinking diet peach tea instead of the full-calorie southern sweet tea that I REALLY wanted. Eventually, I want to weed out some of the indulgences so that I only have a treat once or twice a week, like on the days we go over to have dinner with my mom & dad because there's no telling them I'm on a diet. Right now, I feel overly full and I'm totally aware that I should've eaten a little less for dinner.

Ty is on the elliptical right now, so I'm off to surf the Internet a little more before he's done. FYI, Ty(ler) is my live-in fiance`...he's trying to be supportive of me by becoming healthier too, even though he's a hottie and doesn't need to be working so hard on that elliptical.

...you are the future, time to go for what is yours...

2007-06-29T17:37:00.000-04:00

I have been documenting my successes (and downfalls) in a Livejournal account, but it feels so repressed over there. I want my "Season of Shape Up" to be available to anyone who might want to take a gander and I just didn't think LJ was very accessible. Hence, the moving.

This week felt like a blur. It wasn't a great week...and right now, I'm eating a pop tart. But, I've started reading Glamour magazine and I decided to do their Body by Glamour plan because it sounds reasonable. One of their tips says this: "Do you tend to reach for food when you�??re bored, stressed or upset? Jot down 10 things you can do instead of eat�??and use the list whenever these emotions pop up. For example, instead of nibbling mindlessly to pass the time at home, give yourself a pedicure, call a friend you haven�??t spoken with in ages, or read the latest about Brangelina in a celeb magazine." And that's SO ME! So, I think I'm going to do that. Like, now.

1. Read a book or a magazine
2. Paint my nails
3. Play with the puppies
4. Play a board game with Ty
5. Surf the Internet
6. Go singing in the car (but don't go driving because gas costs an arm AND a leg)
7. Read a book
8. Take notes for class
9. Take a bubble bath
10. EXERCISE!

...I'm a one girl revolution...

2007-06-28T21:24:00.000-04:00

INTRODUCTION POST TIME!

I think when you start a weight loss blog, it's important to tell your story. You know, the basics of why you're on a weight loss journey. It gives your readers a chance to get to know you and it gives you a chance to go back and remind yourself why you're doing this when you many be tempted to eat M&Ms and watch Beverly Hills, 90210 re-runs all day. Beware of the length...

Hi, I'm Candy.

I was a chunky child, but when I was 13 I learned the value of exercise and not eating chocolate and I lost some weight. After the inital loss, I wanted to lose more, so I stopped eating all sweets, cheese, and butter and I did sit-ups a few times a day. By the time I went into high school, I weighed about 110 lbs or so at 5'2". I was fanatical about my weight for some time, but by my junior year, my curves started to really come in and I developed the rather substantial hips that run in my family. I hated this, but after some time I got used to it and when I graduated, I weighed around 125 lbs and was happy with my body. It was all downhill from there...

At college in Tampa, I was a theatre major and I hated it. Theatre, which I had loved in high school, wasn't what I had expected it to be in college. I hated my classes (which involved sewing costumes and setting up lights for the "real" actors, something I had been in high school...I was a theatre performance major and did NO performing during the semester I spent there) and became really down about life. The only thing I had going for me was Ty (we attended the same college) and he's always eaten whatever he wanted, so I started to also. I also stopped exercising because I felt so mopey all the time. I gained 30 pounds in about 6 months...by the end of the semester, I decided to move back home to Orlando with Ty (he was taking time off from college because of money issues) and reassess my college goals. I started working as a receptionist, which of course meant I sat at a desk all day. I remained 158 lbs for several months until I decided to do something about it. Unfortunately, I did the wrong thing and started eating only about 600 to 800 calories a day and walking and swimming everyday after work. I lost 17 lbs in two months, but only kept it off for a few months after that. Once I started eating normally (and it was holiday season), it all came back gradually, plus more.

I began 2007 at 165 lbs, which is about where I am now. I live in Florida and it's hot outside and all I want to do is wear shorts. Plus, I am getting married sometime in the future and I want to already be in shape for it. And, I'm sick of most of the clothes in my closet not fitting and feeling so bad about myself. I'm losing it the right way this time and I mean, all of it. My goal is to settle at 130 lbs.

Don't you feel better now that you know all that? :)

....this is me, take it or leave it...

2007-06-27T14:07:00.000-04:00

The Story of Me

Myself: I'm Candy (Candace, but I probably won't answer you if you call me that), 22 years old, a full-time college student majoring in Education, and engaged to my very adorable high school sweetheart, Tyler. We live together in Orlando, Florida and own three Chihuahuas, Izzie, Addison, and Bailey (we're big Grey's Anatomy fans, in case you're wondering about those names). Ty works as an assistant manager at Walgreens and I am working hard to get my degree so I can start teaching in the next few years. We're getting married in May of 2009...we're saving for most of the wedding ourselves. I'm an only child and my parents have been married for over 30 years. They live a few blocks away from us, so I still see them once a week. Assertive is my middle name and I don't let anyone step all over me. I'm a former teen beauty queen, which led to my obsession with weight. I had an eating disorder for most of my teenage years. I still deal with those issues today, but I'm no longer suffering. My personality type is ESFP (Radiates attractive warmth and optimism. Smooth, witty, charming, clever. Fun to be with. Very generous. 8.5% of the total population.) according to http://similarminds.com/.

My Likes: My first love is music. I've sang even since I can remember and I know the lyrics to more songs than I can count. I listen to all different genres and also adore musical theatre. I was in the musical Into the Woods in high school. I'm not a big fan of TV, but I watch Grey's Anatomy religiously. I'm an Izzie. I also enjoy Ugly Betty and Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, the latter because I'm a borderline nerd. I own all 10 seasons of F.R.I.E.N.D.S on DVD. I love to educate people and I've wanted to be a teacher ever since I used to have a little pink desk when I was 6 and I would make up papers to grade and give my imaginary students names. I'm a book worm and I enjoy mysteries, chick lit, and paranormal literature. I love nature and my favorite time of the day is sunset. I would watch the sun set every night if I had the time. Shopping is like therapy for me (even though I'm not a shop-a-holic or anything) and I will peruse the mall for hours, just looking for one pair of shoes. I adore things that smell good, like candles, bubble baths, and lotions.

My Dislikes: I abhore rude people and feel like there's no place for it in the world. I also don't like when people are cruel to others. I will march right up and defend anyone if I think they're being mistreated. Standardized tests are a joke to me and I want the FCAT abolished. I will NOT eat brussel sprouts, hot dogs, oysters, or anything that doesn't seem normal to me (for example, cow tongue). Paper cuts make me mad, as do stains on anything. Needles and cockroaches are my nemeses.