Hey all, my name is Ashley. My birthday will be at the end of February. I have been on mfp since the end of June 2014, and my starting weight at the time was 193.1. Right now, my calorie goal is 1400, but sometimes I play around with things, so it might change at least once between now and whenever we finish the group. For workouts, I am doing P90X, but I'm not doing the yoga and the stretching workouts, because I'm not very flexible, and I just want to wait until I've lost a some more weight before trying. I also have a fitbit charge, and try to hit my goal at least twice a week, if not more.

starting measurements (weight and body fat is as of 1/29, all other measurements (in inches) were just taken)
weight 183.3
body fat 45%
waist 39
hips 47.5
bust 43
left thigh 25.5
right thigh 25.5
left bicep 13
right bicep 13

I haven't felt that great this week, and didn't have much money, so I wound up eating stuff that I had at the house. I went to Jury duty on the 1st, and I had just enough cash to buy breakfast, but only because I got up late, and didn't have time to make breakfast. I did wind up eating a lot of junk food type stuff, mainly chips and chocolate. I ate up all the chocolate within three days, only because it was there. I try to stay away from chocolate candy, but I had a gift certificate for a one pound box of See's candy, and I got chocolate at a meeting I went to on Monday. Hopefully I don't let my emotions get the better of me and buy myself a bunch of valentines day crap that I know I need to stay away from. I'm working on getting my mental and emotional baggage and roadblocks out of the way so that I can whip my eating and exercise into shape. I have cheerleaders, but they don't push me the way I need them to, so it's all on me to get motivated. I've considered joining a gym, but I don't have the money to do it. Plus I know that I would eventually lose interest in going, especially if it's not close enough. If I can't muster up the motivation to workout at home, or go for a walk around the neighborhood, then what's the point in wasting money on going somewhere specifically designed for working out.

I haven't been in the right mindset recently it seems like. I sometimes feel as if I can't keep going, and just want to give up. But then I remember why I doing it and keep going. I have my ups and downs, and my weight will show it during this challenge. I've recently been trying to eat better, and eat out less, but it's tough, especially since I'm not much of a cook. It's tough sometimes, because my sweet tooth kicks in quite often, and don't get me started on cravings. I'm thinking of doing either a cleanse, whole30, or something along those lines. I just need to look into all of them so that I can maybe kick some of my bad habits out of my life. Granted I say that now, but knowing me I might look into it, and will either decide to do it and give up, or decide not to do it at all. I'll do research into it after the Super Bowl today, and then make my decision. If I do decide to do it, I will most likely start in March, as I have several events in the next few weeks where food will be out of my control. I do know that whatever I decide, I need to keep in mind why I am here, and what I'm working towards.

Up way too much over the last few weeks. I am starting the whole 30 on Tuesday, and I think it will help. Don't be surprised if you see me ranting about something.

day one completed of my whole30, and boy was I hungry this morning. I forgot to plan something for breakfast, so I wound up grabbing a banana for breakfast and an orange to have as a snack when I left for work. I wound up getting peanuts from the vending machine in the break room, only because I needed something besides the orange on my break. After work, I went to Sprouts to get a few things to eat, and then went home to make something to eat. I got stuff for a salad, so that I could have something to eat while cooking. I will be making sure that I have something planned for breakfast in the future, because I was crazy light-headed, and had a hunger headache. As I cut out the energy drink I have while at work, I was very tired once I got off work. I must have done something weird food wise, because my stomach was irritated after eating, probably because it's so used to eating foods that are more processed, and not home-cooked. I'm hoping that my stomach will adjust, but I have a feeling it will take awhile, since it gets irritated pretty easily.

Coffee and tea are allowed, but I can't stand black coffee, and can't use milk, because it's cut out during the whole 30. The energy drink has processed sugar, which is something to be cut out during the whole 30. Plus I don't usually drink coffee.

I don't usually drink tea, and I can't have honey, I checked. I also don't have a set schedule at work, and it's always changing, so it won't be too hard for me to cut out. I usually save coffee for Sundays, when I'm at church. Even though I can't stand black coffee, I just added some hot water to dilute it a little bit so that it won't be as bitter. Sometimes, when I'm really tired I'll go to Starbucks and get coffee, but for now I'll just stick with iced tea if I do go. Really for work, I just need something to drink, so I'll be sticking with water. As far as the eating goes, I've doing good overall, but I wound up staying for a full shift at work yesterday, and had to go get something to eat m there is a chick-fil-a in the same parking lot as work, and figured I would get a salad and pick of the shredded cheese. Turns out the chicken was breaded, there was corn, and the cheese was melted. Add I didn't have time to deal with taking care of it, and needed to eat, I just added the dressing, and chalked it up to a "cheat meal" program wise. Even though, from what I've read, I have to start over, I'm going to just keep going, as if it didn't happen. I also can't weigh myself but for the sake of my sanity, I'm going to. In the first few days, I've lost almost six pounds, which makes me happy. It will make me keep going for the rest of the month. I'm expecting to receive easter treats from people, and I'm going to my aunts, house for Easter, and my mom and I are planning to bring something for us to eat, as we expect that there will be a lot of food we can't eat.