Almost a month later...was

So, I did warn y'all that keeping up this blog would be a challenge. Almost a month later I'm finally finishing a post that I started only about two weeks ago. Eery time I would think about making a new post, but I would either turn around and forget or have the thought at a time when I couldn't post the update.

Anyways, I have been following my meal plan, and with that alone have lost three pounds. Is it impressive? No, but at least it shows movement in the right direction.

Since my last post, though, I did get a stationary bike, and I am trying to use that more regularly. I have found out that I can actually make something in the kitchen.

I have had a few "cheat days," but I have done my best to limit those cheats to one meal per week.

One was when I visited Kilgore for the annual Texas Two-Step fundraiser and the other was the other day when I hosted a "Rent" themed dinner to watch the Fox presentation.

I found through the meal plan that the key is to remain full throughout the day to avoid cravings or overeating. Luckily, the meal plan includes food I enjoy, like oatmeal, eggs (whole and egg whites), yogurt, chicken, turkey, salmon and spinach. While I can cook oatmeal, eggs, chicken and turkey at home, I have relied on H-E-B and Red Lobster some to make sure my salmon is cooked properly.

When it comes to sweets, I have tried to keep the mini individually-wrapped Hershey's chocolates so I can have just a taste of sweets without opening an entire candy bar or anything like that.

I have yet to give up milk completely, but I have started to use almond milk in my oatmeal and coconut milk in my tea. It's small changes, but I hope it does something.

Now, if I can get my sleep schedule down to workout in the mornings, I'm sure the progress will be a bit faster.

Outside of my resolution, I have started watching "Downton Abbey" finally. I know I'm a few years late, but I have gotten sucked into it. I wanted to watch before the movie comes out in September, and I'm pretty sure I will have it done well before then and probably even before March.

I'm hoping I can do better from now on in updating these posts. (I know, I said that once before.)

Here are a few of my food selections so far. Not too bad if I must say so.

Salmon w/ homemade tartar sauce and a side of spinach 

Southwest turkey patties w/ sautéed spinach and onions.
(Avocados were in the empty section of the box.) 

Oatmeal w/ cinnamon, eggs/egg whites w/ avocado

New Year, not quite new me (yet!)

Happy New Year, y'all! We made it to 2019!

OK so the first two days of the year have not gone according to plan, but I can't say I necessarily expected them to.

I am not the kind of person who thinks a brand new way of life will magically happen when the clock strikes midnight on a new year. Just like any other holiday weekend, I ended up with a lot of leftovers, some better than others. At least all is homemade, but still chicken tetrazzini is objectively not as healthy as vegetable soup.

Just as I am not the person who thinks life changes Jan. 1, I am also not the person who likes to waste food. That being said, I am just trying to eat the worst (unhealthiest) leftovers first as kind of a transition.

I am using these leftovers to my advantage, though. Later this week once the rain clears out and while I still have these leftovers, I'm going to head to the grocery store to get ingredients to meal prep without the pressure of needing to use any of those ingredients for the same night's dinner.

As I mentioned in my previous post, sleep is also going to be a priority of this, and that has also been less than perfect. I, of course, stayed up way past midnight New Year's Day and then also the night after I did the same trying to take down Christmas decorations.

The one big thing that happened New Year's Eve is I got a stationary bike. That means I no longer have an excuse to not exercise and hopefully I can develop a routine that involves a gym/class some days and my apartment other days.

My thinking also is with a bike, I can get on and ride while watching TV or a movie instead of sitting on my couch.

I'll give an update once I go to the store (probably on Friday) and try my hand at my first recipe.

Developing a plan

As the new year gets closer, I realize the challenge I'm about to take on not only with my resolution, but also with this blog. This is my first time doing anything like this for this amount of time. The most I've kept a blog consistently was in London ("Katz in London" - I know clever right!) when it was part of my class.

I don't know if I will post every day. To be honest, I probably won't, just because life happens. But I will try to post at least three times per week. Some excessively busy weeks might ends up being just a weekend wrap-up, but I will do my best to keep this going. Just as I am counting on whoever reads this to hold me accountable on my journey toward healthy living, feel free to call me out on my blogging also if I forget to post for an extended period of time.

Now that I've addressed that, let me tell anyone reading this that I've been researching some simple, easy recipes that look like they might taste good and that I might not screw up too badly. In addition to healthy recipes and just in general more made-at-home meals, I am planning to incorporate a variation of liquid-only days. A year or two ago I took a challenge to go three days eating just smoothies and smoothie bowls as far as "meals." Over that three-day period I lost 4 pounds, which just amazed me. I didn't know that was actually possible.

So, what I am thinking is doing smoothie-only diets on days when I do a light workout instead of a full on class or something. I know it works if done correctly, and maybe incorporating that into my diet 1 or 2 days a week will help me naturally reduce my caloric intake, which I know is too high.

The workouts and exercise is another thing I need to tackle, and I am still researching that. Look for another post on that.

While diet has usually been the weakest link (cue Anne Robinson's "You are the weakest link. Goodbye!") of my previous attempts at weight loss, I know sleep is also a key component.

As I write this, I have spent two nights up until 3 or 4 a.m. for one reason or another. I have a crazy work schedule and sometimes don't get home until 11 p.m. However that usually means I do not go into work until 1 or 2 p.m. the following day. It becomes a cycle until one day I get home late - 9:30 p.m. or later - and then have to be up at 6 or 7 the next morning. Then I try to get back on track, but many times wind up falling back into my cycle.

Changing those habits is another part of my quest to live a healthier life, and I know old habits die hard. The problem is it's not really an "old" habit. I really only developed it since I moved to Bryan-College Station in March. I went from a routine of a MW 6:30 a.m. workout before a regular 8-5 job plus anything else that happens outside of those hours to a more flexible hourly-paid schedule that meant I sometimes come in at 8, 9 or 10 a.m., but other times might start my day at 2 p.m.

I cannot always help having to work late because that comes with the role of a community journalist. What I can control, though, is getting ready for bed as soon as I get home instead of trying to "wind down," which many times means watching TV and falling asleep on the couch with multiple lights and the TV still on. Believe me, I'm not proud of that aspect. I know I do it, though, and I know I shouldn't.

The habit that will probably be easier to break is eating dinner at a decent time instead of waiting until I get home. Starting with the first week of 2019, I will be bringing or even picking up something for dinner to eat at the office, so when I get home, all I have to do is maybe watch an episode of "The Great British Baking Show" as I get ready for bed.

If you have any suggestions, let me know!

An introduction

Hello! My name is Chelsea Katz.

I am 28 years old and work as a journalist in Bryan-College Station in south-central Texas. I was born and raised in Texas, and the most time I have spent outside the Lone Star State was five months when I lived in Washington, D.C., for an internship during my senior year of college.

Just like I'm sure many others do, I always make a New Years' resolution to get back into shape and live a generally healthier life. And every year I start out strong and taper off after a few months. Sometimes, it doesn't even last a month.

I've never tried blogging, though, so I hope this can help me stay motivated and on the right path.

My goal with this is to start and sustain a healthy life. Ultimately, I would like to get back to how I felt and looked my sophomore year of college when I played club rugby. Being honest with myself, that is quite a ways off. The more immediate goal, though, is to be more comfortable with my appearance by June 15 when I will be in my cousin's wedding!

In a way this will become my journal. I am not going to be kind to myself here because I must be accountable. If I stumble, I will come out and say it and do my best to get back on track. I might have a recipe that goes way wrong or a day when I just can't bring myself to go to the gym. If I'm going to do this, dang it, I'm going to do my best to do it right.

This is way out of my comfort zone, but I am going to try this. If anyone reads this, y'all will be my motivators.

I should note, I am not a nutritionist or a work out guru. I am not even a great cook. Most of the time I get take-out, which tells you a lot. And to top it all off, my schedule as a journalist is wonky to say the least. So, that being said, this is truly going to be a journey of trial and error of me finding what might work for me when it comes to food/diet, exercise and just general good life habits. If anyone has any suggestions or recipes, feel free to pass them on. I could probably use the help.

For the remainder of 2018, I will be doing research on how to do this, and this journey will really begin with the start of 2019. That is more for me, just so I can have a memorable date to mark the start, and maybe if I do research for a few days, I can hit the ground running on Jan. 1, 2019. Well, maybe a fast-paced walk. I'll work my way up to running maybe.

This picture is of me (left) and one of my good friends Kim after her graduation from TCU with her master's degree. This is from Dec. 15 and is probably the most recent picture of me.

This was a picture taken in October 2010, my sophomore year of college, before one of our ADPi sorority events. I had gotten the dress about a year earlier and it was a little big by the time this picture was taken, so I added the belt to make it fit. Oh to have that problem again! College was probably the last time I really felt comfortable wearing sleeveless anything. I told y'all, I'm going to try to keep this as real as possible.

Just to gauge who might be at all interested, drop a note below to say hi or pass along your favorite tasty, easy, healthy recipes or apartment-friendly workouts.