I have decided to change my focus and discontinue blogging about weight loss. I do not believe it is furthering my journey and I would prefer to be slightly less personal with the world.

If you want to continue to read about my fitness regime as well as my picks for eats and movies, read my new blog: http://fitfoodfilm.tumblr.com/

I appreciate all the time you have spent reading my entries and the support you’ve given. Don’t forget to shoot me a comment at the new spot!

Xo,

Jay

I’ve been wayyyy better about my carbohydrate intake in the last nine months but the past three I havent been as good – no more Jen on my tail!

For example, on the menu today:

• Pre-workout snack: 1/2 Clif Bar
• Breakfast: 1 pkt Original Oatmeal, 1 pkt Apples & Cinnamon Oatmeal
• Snack: 1 cup red grapes
• Lunch: 1/2 burrito
• Dinner: Sushi

So basically….all carbs. I plan on having a salad and some edamame at dinner as well (yay veggies + protein!). My burrito also has extra black beans…BUT STILL, HELLO CARBS!

I think I need to get over the free breakfast at work and cook myself eggs in the morning (with some cheese of course, gotta have that!). I was doing well when I first started working by bringing salads to work. I didn’t go grocery shopping this week which was my big downfall.

So, to my fellow carb-o-holics: make sure to go to the store and buy veggies to keep at work (if you have a fridge) and some protein to pair with your carbs.

I ended up going to bed late and snoozed my alarm…not enough time to work out unless I get up at 5:30. So I slept until 7 and then headed to work. For breakfast I had a bowl of Special K Red Berries with Soy Milk to try to offset my lack of exercise.

My plan for lunch was to go pick up a nice fresh, healthy salad from the grocery store down the street from my office BUT my boss asked if I wanted to go to lunch. Note to those new to the working world: ALWAYS go to lunch with the boss man. Bonding with your coworkers is really important! We ended up at a Mexican restaurant. I ordered a veggie burrito and only ate half. I’m all set for lunch manana!

I have all my gym stuff in the car and my workout plan is as follows: Cross train 35 minutes then do a speed workout (warm up for a mile, alternate 2 hard minutes with 2 easy minutes for 1 mile, then cool down for a mile). I’d really like to do some toning work but my shoulder is still outta whack

Alright readers, back to work I go!

I still don’t take pictures when I go out to eat but thought I’d show the restaurant. We also had hot and sour soup – which was WAY spicer than normal! – as well as Snow White Chicken. Of course, after ordering, my Dad cracked a few jokes about what else we could have ordered…like Grumpy Beef or Dopey Pork. He’s so nerdy and I love it.

Breakfast yesterday was Special K with Red Berries and soy milk. Lunch was a delicious PB & Banana sandwich. I’ve been pretty bad with carbs recently..whoops! Snacks included one graham cracker, a slice of Cheddar cheese and 2 jolly ranchers.

Didn’t make my workout yesterday because of the celebration. Here’s the 5k training plan for this week:

Tuesday (today): Cross train 3o to 45 min

Wednesday: Warm up 1 mile, alternate between 2 hard minutes and 2 easy minutes for 1 mile, then cool down for 1 mile

Thursday: Strength training (let’s hope my shoulder no longer hurts then!)

Friday: Run or run-walk for 25 minutes

Saturday: Rest

Sunday: Run or run-walk 1 mile

And that’s the game folks! How did you all spend Father’s Day?

• The Palms
• Pure
• Pizza
• Free beer pong
• Free shots
• BOTTLE SERVICE
• VIP Pool
• Holly Madison
• Free appetizers & Champagne
• Pauly Shore & Kim Kardashian
• JET
• VIP
• Blackjack
• The Strip
• Craps
• SAY YES TO FUN!

I always have fun in Las Vegas but this was definitely the best. We made now plans and just went with the flow. We said YES to fun and it worked out extremely well

How did you guys spend your weekend?

My voyage (Spring 2008) organized a reunion in Vegas for this weekend. I actually don’t know that many people going and do not know if I’ll get to meet up with many people but uhh it’s Vegas so it’ll still be WAY fun. I can’t wait to dance, tan, and play some CRAPS. YAY!

Anyways, Breakfast. If you don’t eat breakfast – start. I used to eat just a little bowl of cereal in the morning or some waffles to go. Let me tell you – I was hungry an hour or two later. Oatmeal, however, satisfies me from about 8am until 1pm which is HUGE. I feel like normally I am always hungry but oatmeal does a good job and keeping me full. It’s all about foods that stick to your ribs – peanut butter and slightly greener bananas are also good choices. Foods full of protein in the morning will also fight off hunger…think eggs – breakfast burrito, frittata, scrambles, etc.

This morning I had one packet of plain oatmeal mixed with Apples & Cinnamon. It’s be better if I brought my own oats from home and then added ingredients (less sugar) but it’s free at work. Hard to weigh out the pros and cons lol.

I skipped my 5k training yesterday. I’m okay with that though. I really needed to finish some things at work, clean my apartment, pack, and watch Game 7! I’m not normally that into basketball but these games have been very exciting, particularly last nights game. Both teams had really phenomenal defense…the offense wasn’t so hot. I really thought the Celtics would beat out the Lakers but they gave up in the last couple of minutes. You could see the defeated look on their faces. I was rooting for the lakers as I went to college in Orange County but I would have been happy either way.

That’s all for now…apart from a recap of my caloric intake yesterday. I probably won’t blog again until Sunday night so have a fantastic weekend!

6/17/10:

• Breakfast: Oatmeal (260)
• Lunch: 1/2 burrito (400)
• Snack: 2 pieces of See’s candy (170, whoops!), apple (35)
• Dinner: 1/2 burrito, 1/3 Clif bar (484, still wanted something sweet)
• Total: 1,349
• No workout.

Sorry I don’t have any photos yet. I’ll start getting back into the habit, I promise!

As for eating yesterday, if you are curious, here’s a breakdown of what I had:

• Breakfast: Oatmeal (240)
• Mid-morning snack: Nonfat Sugar-free Vanilla Latte (~100) + Grapes (~70)
• Lunch: PB&J (250) + Banana (100)
• Dinner: Omelet with tomato (95) + Yogurt (120)
• Dessert: Jolly Ranchers (70)
• Total: 1,045

Not my best day. I’m going to start adding it what I overindulged in and what I lacked.

Overindulged: Sugar (pb and jolly ranchers)

Lacked: Vegetables

After taking a much needed haitus, I am back to blogging. Although this time around I am going to make my blog more well-rounded about my life: working in social media, staying healthy and fit, as well as my travels. Those are my 3 big passions I would say

What’s that you say? What the hell heck have I been doing since February? Well, let me tell you! It’s all very exciting!

I moved to San Francisco! I finally got out of my parents house alive! Lol, it wasn’t really that bad living at home but I am MUCH happier now than I was several months ago. I scored a sweet spot in the Marina. Currently I live alone but that’s about the change. A good friend from Semester at Sea was looking for someone to room with in the city. Bonus: She wants to live in the Marina! Woot woot! Who loves cheaper rent? THIS GIRL! I’ll probably start looking next month as my lease is up in August. I’m not in a hurry though because I go month to month after mid-August. I want to find a great spot. I am going to miss my current little apt though – It’s become home. Also, it’s a block from Safeway and 2 blocks from Marina Blvd which is an ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS walk if you haven’t been to San Francisco before.

I got a job! That’s right, after 10 months(!) of unemployment I landed a sweet gig. Mid-April I started working for a PR firm doing social media. SCORE! I love social media. Essentially it’s a mix of PR and Marketing over the internet. Basically what I do is monitor a couple Facebook pages (take down negative content, respond to Fans, keep track of what Fans are talking about) as well as a couple Twitter handles. I also find content to post on these sites (which takes quite a bit of time) and I write bi-weekly mammoth reports. Seriously, the reports are HUGE and take 4 days. I still have someone help me so I only spend about 2.5…but ya, those are LONG days. Today is actually one of those days…but I needed a break

Weight Loss Update: Well, I didn’t lose all the weight I intended to but I feel better about myself than I did back in the fall. I still watch what I eat (mostly…I drink more now than I used to. Oops. But it’s so fun to go out in SF!) and exercise regularly. Since I moved out I no longer see Jen which breaks my heart. We were making a lot of progress but A) She’s located FAR away from me and B) She’s not cheap. I’m hoping that I can return to her when I’ve got my salary and expenses all figured out by the end of the summer. Pick up where we left off? Well, I won’t be that out of shape then but I’ve already lost a lot of muscle. But really for the first time since 2007 I feel good about the way I look. I look healthy. And I have no thoughts of ever going back to being annorexic. How I didn’t eat for over a year, I do not know. The moment I get hungry now I’m on the prowl for some tummy lovin’.

5k Training: Currently, like as of Monday, I started training for a 5k! I found a great training program online (which I printed out) and will be following it for the next 6 weeks…well, mostly. I cannot find the link for you guys tho! Sorry – I’ll be sure to tweet what you should do each day. Here’s a recap:

• Monday 6/14: Strength Training
• Tuesday 6/15: Run or run-walk 25 minutes
• Wednesday (that’s today!): Rest or cross train 35 to 45 min (cross training is biking or swimming, any nonwalking/running cardio)

Still single: Despite my efforts of finding a suitable young man to date, it hasn’t panned out yet. I’m more okay with that now than before though. It’s fun being young and single in SF! Plus I found some gal pals that are single and definitely not going to change that anytime soon, lol.

Have I made enough plugs for how much I love SF? I hope so.

Well, I think that’s a good update for now. I need to get back to work anyways!

As Will Schuester would say: “You know what Wednesday is? Hump Day.” (Yes, I’m a total Gleek)

JFeve

After breakfast I went to my Dad’s to study. I am now having second thoughts as to whether or not I really want to take the GMAT. I’m almost done with my prep class and am not where I’d like to be score wise. I’m going to continue to study and just relax about it and if I feel ready I will take the test. Anyways, came back to Mom’s for lunch. Thawed some frozen berries and mixed in Fage greek yogurt. I also tasted the red pepper hummus I bought with some carrots. It wasn’t bad! I thought I only liked Trader Joe’s brand so this was a delight.

I also packed up some carrots to eat as a snack. My internship was the usual…about 5 minutes of work and then good ol’ facebook stalking. I left around 3 and headed home. It was a gorgeous day so I walked to work. It’s a little over a mile away.

Jen is out of town this week so I saw a different trainer, Rick. He’s a nice guy – just moved here 6 weeks ago. We had a decent work out. It’s hard for someone to know what level you are at if they haven’t been training you. I see him again on Friday so I’m hoping for a tougher workout. Before my workout I ate a Clif Banana Nut Bread bar. What is my deal with banana today? Delicious though!

On my way home from FIT I stopped at Sumo’s and picked up vegetable udon. Mm! Sooooo good! I’m saving half for lunch tomorrow. I also had some grapes for dessert.

I’m totally exhausted so I think I am going to curl up on the couch and watch a movie tonight. More than halfway through the week!

We arrived late on Saturday and immediately went to have a cocktail. Our room wasn’t ready and they were actually about an hour behind schedule so they comped our drinks! I had a delicious blood orange martini! Mm! Afterwards, we checked into our rooms and freshened up before meeting up again for dinner on State Street. We ended up at an American cafe that was just okay. The service was terrible and the food mediocre at best. You win some and you lose some…

My sister and I stayed downtown afterwards to “paint the town red” and meet up with a friend of hers as well as a group of my gal pals. It was a really fun night. I think Sharkeez is a great place to go. The bar was decorated accordingly as it was the night before Valentines Day. At midnight they were supposedly going to pair people up. I’m glad we left at 11:45…could have been a disaster! We had a huge brunch Sunday morning so we came home early.

My mother says that the Four Seasons Santa Barbara (our totally amazing hotel) has the best brunch she’s ever had. She was indeed correct. There were so many delectable items – cakes, cookies, omelets, sushi, caviar, crepes, waffles, pb & j, donuts, bagels, lamb, EVERYTHING! I ended up with a lot…an egg white omelet (with cheese, tomatoes, and spinach), a mini berry muffin, a mini red velvet cupcake, LOTS of fruit, and several items from the chocolate fountain (what can I say, I love marshmallows in fresh, warm chocolate!). I felt really disgusting afterwards…actually for the entire day. I went and worked out for 45 minutes after but that didn’t help. I was simply too full. Totally worth it. I cannot remember the last time I thoroughly stuffed myself and I haven’t been to a good brunch in about 3 years. Like I always say, everything in moderation.

My cousin Grant as well as his friend Mike joined us for brunch which was awesome. They both have great, contagious, energy. I think the best part about brunch though was Luke Wilson. He was at the table behind us. I was literally feet from him for about 2 hours…I could definitely hear his conversation. I’ve never been so close to a celebrity! It was pretty cool. As my cousin said, “It’s like watching TV!” lol, silly Grant.

I was too chicken to take a photo...this is from the Roswell Daily Record from this weekend

Anyways, the rest of the afternoon we bummed around State Street. My sister and I did some serious damage at Anthropologie. In fact, we both ended up with one of these beauties:

Cute huh? We came back to the hotel to get my Grandmother and go out to a girls-only Valentine’s Day dinner. (Sidebar: I think Valentines Day is a really stupid holiday). We had previously made reservations at a little italian restaurant in Montecito called Tre Lune. I thought it was really good. I had the best minestrone of my life and a caesar salad. I was still full from brunch! Ridiculous…everything else ordered at my table looked great too. The waitress was very knowledgeable and the food came fast! If you are in the SB area, this is a great spot.

When we got back to our rooms the hotel had set out a nice little Valentine’s Day spread – little chocolates and a small bottle of champagne. Of course, I dug right in.

Strawberry Champagne!

We didn’t do much with the rest of the evening. My sister and I watched The Holiday which is the most adorable movie ever! Maybe if I go away on vacation I’ll meet my dream guy? lol

Monday morning we woke up fairly early and met for breakfast. I hit the gym afterwards and spent about 40 minutes working out. The gym facility at the Four Seasons, by the way, is phenomenal. Each cardio machine has it’s own little TV and you are given a towel and bottle of water upon arrival. If you get really sweaty, like I do, they have little hand towels soaking in ice, scented with lemon grass, tempting you. They were SO awesome!

After my quickie workout, it was a tough day at the spa. I got an eyebrow wax (finally!) in addition to an 80 minute aromatherapy massage. It’s a tough life, I know. I chose peppermint oil. Mmm. I also spent a great deal of time in the sauna. I love being hot! This is the perfect spot for me haha. Our massages ended around 1:30 and I was starving. Sadly, the service is pretty slow at any restaurant in the hotel so we didn’t eat until about 2:45. I had delicious tortilla soup. I was so relaxed that I spent the rest of the afternoon sleeping.

Around 7 we decided it was time to eat again but were too lazy to venture out of the hotel. I ordered a delicious plate: Cornish game hen with heirloom carrot and parmesan risotto. Oh. My. Gosh. Heaven in my mouth. I ate about half the plate although I would have loved to lick it clean. My compliments to the chef!

I'll have another order please.

For dessert I had a poached pear with passion fruit caramel sauce. It also came with a little chocolate cake but I wasn’t really interested in it so it got left alone.

I watched a few episodes of Family Guy and then passed out again. I cannot believe how much I slept yesterday! I never sleep!

This morning I ordered room service so I could actually get some studying done. Sadly, I forgot to take a picture…like so many of my meals this weekend. I had an egg white omelette with cheese (I ate half), 2 pieces of multigrain toast, and chicken sausage. I ate a link and a half of the sausage. It was really good..very filling! In fact, I didn’t even eat lunch. I had an apple and a power bar around 3:30 and a bowl of soup around 6. I had Wolfgang Puck’s Hearty Vegetable which I highly recommend.

I’ve spent all day in the car (well, 5 hours of it) and I really just want to hop into bed. I hope you all had a lovely 3 day weekend as well!

I'll be seeing you again soon, Four Seasons SB!