"There's a great big beautiful tomorrow....

...shining at the end of every day!" - Carousel of Progress, Magic Kingdom Park

The title of this entry shouldn't be surprising for those of you who like Disney like I do. :P There really is a "great big beautiful tomorrow" at the end of the day!

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving will be here in a few weeks. A holiday where families and friends gather around the table eating stuffing, cranberry sauce, and turkey. A holiday where families and loved ones collapse on the couch, floor, or their beds suffering from food coma. A holiday where families and friends share something they're thankful for with one another. A holiday where it's extremely easy to gain weight that you've been fighting to keep off for so long. 

The closer Thanksgiving gets for me, the closer it is until the local playhouse announces auditions for Hello, Dolly. I'm nervous, excited, anxious, and frightened about the upcoming audition, but auditioning for a musical has been something I've always wanted to do. If I were to be cast as Minnie Faye, that would be a huge confidence booster and encouragement to me after losing 26+ pounds. Unfortunately, it looks like auditioning for Hello, Dolly will have to be put on hold. Something has come up that may prevent me from auditioning (those are not my nerves talking, followers :P).

I will continue to maintain a healthy eating pattern and workout regimen. Let's keep the whole I-Wanted-Chipotle-Becuase-I-Hadn't Eaten-Much-All- Day thing for tonight's dinner as a secret between follower and blogger. Good? Good! I'm still going to call this the Hello, Dolly challenge because I won't know for sure until the audition date gets closer.

I have a 4 hour break tomorrow between classes, so the plan is to workout during that time for at least 30 minutes. I'm on a short term goal to lose five pounds before Thanksgiving, folks. Running on the treadmill and lifting weights are two exercises calling my name.

-B

New Challenge

Hello, followers!

I apologize for the lack of posts these past few months. I hope this entry will get me back into the blogging world so I can share my progress.

God is always good and He encouraged me to keep going until the end of the challenge this summer. It was a difficult challenge to do, but I accomplished it with His help. The Zumba bag I won contained amahhhzing goodies!

Three Zumba shirts, protein power, protein bars, and more!

Pictured below is my Zumba instructor, Terrina. She has been an influential person in my life with her story and has inspired me to become a Zumba instructor. 

My Zumba instructor announced another Zumba challenge a few weeks ago, but I’ve decided to set a challenge of my own. From now until the spring I will continue to be mindful of my food intake and increase my workout routines. The local playhouse near me will announce audition dates sometime next year for the production of Hello, Dolly, so I have from now until then to meet my goal. My current weight is 174 and I want to be between 130-150 pounds before auditions. My character of interest for the show is Minnie Faye, so I need to make sure I will be healthier for auditions. My acting class I’m enrolled in has reminded me how much I miss acting and being on stage. 

Hello, Dolly Challenge: Lose 30+ pounds before Hello, Dolly auditions. 

Prize: Any suggestions? Full body massage? Modcloth.com shopping investment? Anything?! Haha!  

Your continued support will be greatly appreciated as I tackle this challenge. 

-B

Zumba Challenge!

My Zumba instructor announced a challenge to the class for those those who were interested in participating while I was away. It began about a month ago or so, and I figured I wouldn't be able to succeed because I was living in Florida for the summer. Well, I began the competition and I'm still in it until the end of the competition on Monday. The winner of the contest gets a Zumba bag with lots of fun items in like a Zumba video game, Biggest Loser cookbook, and more. I've been on a journey of weight loss since February 17th, so it would be great to win the challenge as a way to stay motivated. If not, I can say that I tried my best and use that as motivation to continue working out and eating right. The contest rules are simple: Eat healthy meals, get a sticker. Workout for an hour, get a sticker. Make healthier choices, get a sticker.

I make sure to eat 3 healthy meals, and workout for an hour every day. It was challenging at first, but I made sure to stay motivated and it worked. Part of my healthy choices is to avoid my Starbucks peppermint drink on a weekly basis, so I've been going through major withdrawals lately.

The date the competition ends is on the 19th, so I'm going to continue staying motivated by working out and eating healthy foods. Your continued support is greatly appreciated.

-B

HELLO BLOGGER! I'VE MISSED YOU GUYS!

Hello followers,

I apologize for my lack of updates these past few weeks/months, but working in Florida took a lot out of me... I've been home for a little over a week now, so I want to try to bring my blog back. College starts for me in about thirteen days. I can't say that I will update my blog every day during that time, though.

I'm going to update my blog tonight with two new posts, so be sure to check back soon!

-B

6/19: Food Diary

While working in Florida this summer, it has made me extremely exhausted.... I keep forgetting to update my calorie intake, but I do know hat I've stayed under!

Update

I apologize for not updating my blog that much these past few weeks. I've been really busy working in Florida and have been way too exhausted to keep up! I will try to get back in the swing of things tomorrow for you guys. 

-B

6/18: Food Diary

Breakfast: 

• Oatmeal

Lunch: 

• Turkey sandwich
• Skinny Cow Chocolates
• 15 BBQ chips

Dinner: 

• Whole wheat pasta with alfredo sauce
• 3 WW candies 
• Green Beans

Calories consumed: 925/1840

Calories lost: 125 from Zumba, 69 from Yoga

-B