I always like to give myself a reality check now & then to track my progress. Here's my picture at the start of my weight loss journey...

That was late 2008/early 2009. It was at the time I decided to start my weight loss journey. Fast forward to 2010 & here's a picture of me this past weekend...

That's me & my listener Ellen Hirsh. You can clearly see--especially in my face--that I've made quite a bit of weight loss progress. But I'm seeing more inches lost than pounds. I really want the pounds to start coming off, so I talked to my co-worker Trey Morgan, who lost 150 pounds! Really, he did! Check out his before & after pictures...

Trey gave me some weight loss advice, pointers & motivation. Watch our vlog below!

These last fews days have just been pristine and gorgeous here in the Tri-State Area! The rain's coming tomorrow & lasting through the weekend, so I'm happy I got out and took advantage of the lovely weather. I hung out in Bernardsville, New Jersey, this past Sunday. As you can see from the picture above, it was a really pretty day. I got my exercise in yesterday by taking a brisk walk along the Hoboken waterfront. Not only did it look nice outside, but it was so warm that I didn't have to wear a jacket! And I was so proud of myself...not only did I walk longer than I used to, but I also didn't stop & rest as much as I used to when I walked! My fitness level & stamina have definitely increased since I've been working out with the trainer.

I've been working out with my trainer twice a week mostly. He had schedule conflicts Monday, so I'll be seeing him again Friday. That's when he'll take my body fat measurement to see if I've improved that number since I've been working out with him the last 6 weeks or so. I'll also be sure to take another "after" picture Friday. Hopefully you'll see a difference from now & a month ago. I can definitely feel a difference in the way my clothes fit me & I see a difference when I look in the mirror. I also went to the mall last week to try on some clothes. I didn't go to shop, but to see if I've made progress. Good news...I've gone down a dress size! But of course, I'll have to up my game since there are only 4 months left for me to fit into a bikini by the 4th of July. I'll have to make a bigger effort to work out a little harder and to streamline my eating more. Be sure to bookmark my blog & check back regularly for my progress. Here are pics of some of the foods I've been eating. Keep scrolling down because I'll share some healthy breakfast recipes with you since breakfast is so integral to losing weight & leading a healthy life style...

I'd never had blood oranges before. The different colors inside the orange peels intrigued me! They were pretty good.

Caesar salad.

Cobb salad.

Seafood soup.

Asian glazed grilled chicken with shrimp fried rice 7 mixed veggies. As promised, here are some healthy breakfast recipe ideas...courtesy of Oprah.com.

*Monday

Chocolate-Strawberry Smoothie with Oat Bran Bagel and Cream Cheese

1 cup 8th Continent® Light Chocolate Soymilk

1/2 ripe banana

1 cup unsweetened frozen strawberries

1/2 oat bran bagel

1 1/2 Tbsp. reduced-fat cream cheese

To make smoothie, combine chocolate soymilk, banana and strawberries in a blender. Serve with half bagel and cream cheese.

*Tuesday

Oatmeal Topped with Almonds and Berries

1 cup cooked plain oatmeal

3/4 cup raspberries, fresh or thawed from frozen

2 Tbsp. almonds

1 cup nonfat milk (optional: use some of the milk in cooking the oatmeal)

Combine oatmeal, raspberries and almonds. Serve with remaining nonfat milk.

*Wednesday

On-the-Go Breakfast

Fiber One® Chewy Bar

1 cup nonfat milk or calcium-enriched soy milk (grab a carton or put in your thermos)

1 banana

6 almonds

~OR~

At-Your-Desk Slim-Fast® Breakfast

1 can chilled Slim-Fast Optima Creamy Milk Chocolate Shake

1 medium banana

1 Wasa® crispbread with 2 tsp. peanut butter

*Thursday

Scrambled Egg and Toast with Berries

1 large egg

2 tsp. zero-gram trans fat margarine

1 slice 100 percent whole wheat toast

1/2 cup blueberries

3/4 cup raspberries (berries can be fresh or thawed from frozen, unsweetened)

1 cup nonfat milk

Scramble egg in 1 teaspoon of margarine. Spread 1 teaspoon on whole wheat toast. Combine blueberries and raspberries. Serve with nonfat milk

*FRIDAY

Total® Cereal and Grapefruit

1 1/4 cup Total cereal

2 Tbsp. walnuts, or other unsalted nuts of your choice

1 cup nonfat milk

1/2 grapefruit

Combine cereal, nuts and milk. Serve with grapefruit.

*Saturday

English Muffin Spread with Almond Butter with Nonfat Milk and Grapefruit

Whole wheat English muffin

1 Tbsp. almond butter or peanut butter

1/2 grapefruit

1 cup nonfat milk

Spread almond butter on English muffin. Serve with grapefruit and nonfat milk.

*Sunday

Mushroom Scrambled Eggs on Crispbread

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

1 chopped scallion

2 tsp. olive oil

2 eggs, scrambled

2 pieces of Wasa crispbread (Multigrain)

1 cup nonfat milk

In small frying pan, heat 1 teaspoon olive oil. Sauté mushrooms and scallions until tender and mushrooms shrink in volume. Remove from pan. Add the other teaspoon of olive oil to the pan. Add the two eggs and cook to scramble for 1 minute. Then add back the mushrooms and scallions. Cook until eggs are done. Serve on Wasa crispbread (Multigrain) with nonfat milk.

Sometimes when I'm blogging, I wonder if anybody's out there reading it. And I found out that there is...yay me! One of my international listeners from the U.K., Chris Turner, thought the food pictures on my blog looked so yummy that he decided to make them himself! So he copied the guacamole & chips recipe from my blog a couple of weeks ago and here are the results!

Here's what Chris had to say: 'Saturday saw me try out the Guacamole and corn chips! Errm, YUM!!! I added the tomato into the guacamole mix. Now, I dont normally like raw tomato - however it was good in this. The best guacamole I've ever had. The chips turned out good too! It wasn't all healthy though as plenty of cheese topped off my beef enchiladas - but it was all lovely! Thanks for the tip!'

Well you are quite welcome Chris! Thanks for always listening and checking out my Weight Loss Blog. Here are more pictures of some of the foods I've been eating lately. Maybe they'll influence more people to try the recipes!

Those were actually leftovers from dinner with my best friends last weekend...baked chicken with mac & cheese and creamed spinach.

More leftovers from my best friends' visit. Store bought chicken salad with pita chips.

My co-worker Wendy hipped me to those 100 calorie bars of chocolate. Of course, I can never eat just one ;-)

I believe those ice cream bars are also only 100 calories and they're from Weight Watchers. I bought them at the grocery store.

I'm a big fan of omelettes, so it's one of my favorite breakfasts. That one's filled with onions, green bell peppers, cheese and topped with avocado.

I don't normally buy orange juice, but it was left over from my best friends' visit. Can't let it go to waste! I mean, I like it...I just don't buy it.

That's an organic spinach pizza. The day I ate it, I had a couple of slices for lunch, then a couple more for dinner.

And that's more of the soft tacos that you've seen on here before...chicken, cilantro, onions, cheese & avocado. I look at those meals and don't see unhealthy meals, but I also don't see enough green leafy veggies. And I really need those...not only because they're healthy, but because they help with my anemia. I really have to work harder to incorporate them into my eating.

I've still been working out with my trainer twice a week. In fact, tomorrow he's gonna measure my body fat. Can't wait to find out if I've made improvements! I haven't been weighing myself. I just wanna get to the point where I feel my body's at it's healthiest. Whatever weight and size that is, that'll be my goal. And I know it seems that I'm obsessed with losing weight, but I'm not. I just have to make this one of my top priorities until I'm at my healthiest. So bare with me and stick with me! Bookmark this blog and check back daily on my journey to get into a bikini by the 4th of July! Love ya...

S