Weekly Weigh-In

Well, Boo!!! I gained 0.9 lbs this week. That puts me at 202.1. Of course, I didn't do such a good job of eating right or going to the gym like I needed to. I know what I need to do to keep this from happening again. I didn't do it today, though. I ate a "Dude" and a hot fudge sundae from Dairy Queen for lunch. Time to pull my head out and get back on course. Good thing I have Zumba tomorrow.

Another important step to take toward getting back on track is getting enough sleep! I'm off to bed now.

Fun, Fun, Fun

I've never had so much fun working out than I've been having at Zumba. It's amazing how adding music and some fun moves changed my whole perception of working out. It also helps to have awesome instructors. :-) This is way better than the aerobics classes I took in the 80's. Both of my instructors make me feel like I can be sexy, even at my current size. My hubby tells me all the time that I'm sexy, but that's his job. It's the other comments he makes that let me know I'm really making progress. We went out to dinner on Valentine's Day. When we got out of the car, he said, "I'll race ya!" So, I raced him. Not only did I keep up with him, I actually wasn't winded when we stopped! Later that evening he told me, "I was watching you when we were running, and your butt is getting smaller." (Well... that's not exactly what he said, but it's the gist of it. :-D ) The point is, he noticed that I'm losing inches. You know you're making progress when your husband notices the changes.

I talked to my soon-to-be personal trainer tonight. I have an appointment on Monday to meet with him and get the paperwork done to start my training. I'm excited! I'm ready to learn more about how to get myself into shape and be healthier.

Tomorrow is weigh-in day at work. I hope I didn't blow it too much this past week. I'd really like to get back below 200 soon. I weighed 201.3 last Wednesday. Here's hoping for the best! I'll let y'all know how I did.

Let's Try This Again!

I can't believe it's been over a year since I posted last. My life has been rather hectic, but I think that MAYBE I can get into a writing routine again. I do have one routine that I've almost nailed. At the beginning of 2012 I started going to the gym again. This time I'm taking classes. On a good week, I go to Zumba on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. I LOVE Zumba! I've always liked dancing and Zumba is a great way to get a good cardio workout. Here are a couple of pics of me ready to go to Zumba on March 27.

I'm liking the results I'm getting, too. I've lost a little over 10 pounds since the beginning of the year. I'm also noticing that my clothes are fitting better. (You gotta love it when body parts start getting back into the right shape!)

In a couple of weeks I'm going to start seeing a personal trainer at the gym. I had a "test drive" on Wednesday and I liked the trainer I visited with. He was telling me what we could do to help me reach my goal of losing 60 more pounds. It will be good for me to have a pro guiding me in the right direction.

Weekly weigh-ins at work are still on Wednesdays. We are also doing a "Biggest Loser" type deal at work as part of our wellness program. Our final weigh-in for that is on April 16. I've lost 10.3 pounds since January 16. That's almost 5%. I'm hoping to lose at least 3 or 4 more pounds by the final weigh-in. I've been in a "friendly" competition with our benefits specialist during this time. He's an evil, evil man. We have monthly luncheons for our company's charitable organization and he LOVES to bring decadent desserts. He does it on purpose! The other competitors in our "Biggest Loser" group and I got together to get back at him. His favorite candy is Heath. We got together and bought a couple of bags of the fun size ones and hid them all over his office. We also sent them to him through the inter-office mail. He found most of them right away and distributed them amongst us. Every now and then he still finds them in some little nook he didn't check before. I wonder how many he actually ate.... LOL

February 2011 Trackers: 4 Weeks To A Better YOU! Weigh In Week 2

Yay!!!! I'm SO excited! I lost 2.4 lbs this week.  :-)  I now weigh 198.3.  That gives me a total weight loss for the challenge of 1.4 lbs!!!!

I have to say I owe the weight loss to getting up in the mornings and exercising.  My hubby and I have been getting up early for the last three weeks and doing some kind of exercising at least 4 times a week.  I have to admit I was tired this morning and slept in until it was time to take my shower and get ready for work.  Tomorrow morning I'll be ready to get up and get moving, though.  I want to keep my weight PERMANENTLY below 200.

I better get this posted now. 

February 2011 Trackers: 4 Weeks To A Better YOU! Weigh In Week 1

I weighed in today with the help of my friend Donyea.  She's always encouraging me and telling me how proud she is when I lose weight. I was a little disappointed with myself, but I know why I gained... I was a bad girl!  I didn't track my eating or pay too much attention to what I ate.  I gained 1 lb.  My weight is now 200.7.  I'm still happy about not gaining more than I have.  I am keeping track of my eating again, and I'm getting up every morning and doing some kind of exercising.  I did some ballet exercises this morning. :-)

I had my hubby take a couple of pictures of me this morning so I can document the beginning of the challenge.  Here I am at 200.7!  I'm looking forward to losing at least 10 lbs. this month!

Hope I didn't scare anyone! LOL... just kidding.  :-)

Thanks for hosting the challenge, Vera!  You can follow my results and the results of the other folks in the challenge here.  Wish me luck!

Today's Weigh In

I didn't get to weigh in yesterday because I got sick less than an hour after I got to work.  Let's just say I was not in any condition to weigh myself.  I did weigh in today, though.  I'm at 200.1 which is up .4 from Thursday.  I'm still pretty happy with the fact that I'm so close to being permanently below 200.  :-)  I'm really liking the way my clothes are getting too big on me. I can't wait until I can go buy new clothes in a smaller size!!!  I've been wearing 18W-20W for far too long

The weather here in North Texas is extremely cold and icy today.  I work for an electric company, so I had to go to work while most people stayed home in their nice toasty beds or in front of their fireplaces drinking hot chocolate.  :-P  Management graciously provided lunch for those of us who showed up.  Unfortunately, I'm really paying for it!  We had chili (mostly grease) with all the fixins, rolls, and crackers.  It tasted pretty good going down, but man, oh man... the heartburn, bloating, and gas were just not worth it!  I had rice for dinner because my stomach felt SO bad.  Tomorrow I'm going back to eating better no matter what they try to feed us!

I hope everyone has a good night.  I'm going to hit the Maalox bottle again!

Surprising Weight Loss

I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but I LOST weight during my recovery!  When I got on the scales at the doctor's office I couldn't believe my eyes... they read 201.0!  Wow!  I was amazed!  I was sure I was going to be disappointed about my weight.  After thinking about it, I'm guessing the best thing that happened to my waist was that I was away from the stresses of my job and all the goodies that everyone brings!  Christmas is the absolute worst time of year for anyone who is trying to lose weight!  Especially when you work where I do. During the entire month of December, people bring in cookies, candy, pies and cakes to share with everyone.  I usually eat whatever everyone brings.  No self control!  I know being at home and away from all the junk really saved my this year.  I'm glad I was home during most of the holiday season.  I had a few baked goodies from my mom, but not as much as I usually have.  I'm glad that the holidays are over and there won't be so many temptations to lure me away from my goals when I go back to work on Monday.  :-)

I think I did pretty well on my grocery shopping yesterday.  I spent a total of $82.11.  The best part about that is I got enough meat to last us nearly 2 weeks and still bought dishwasher detergent and aluminum foil.  I was even able to buy enough salad fixings to get me through my first week back to work.  Not bad for only spending $82!  I'm learning that buying everything at Wal-Mart isn't always the cheapest way to go.  Albertson's had a really good sale this week.  Pork chops and ground turkey for $1/lb!  That's how I was able to get 2 weeks worth of meat for so little money.

The doctor released me yesterday, but told me not to do any strenuous abdominal exercises for another month.  He told me I could jog, though.  Hubby and I are supposed to start either walking/running or going to the gym in the mornings before work starting Monday.  The weather will determine whether we go to the gym or walk/run.  Bring it on!  I'm ready to get into shape and start feeling good about myself.



Photo courtesy of Otis Historical Archives National Museum of Health and Medicine.

Surprise! Good Weigh In Today

I totally don't understand how I had a good weigh in today.  I didn't track my eating or get any kind of extra movement this past week.  (Back to the tracking and getting SOME kind of exercise this week).  I'm pleasantly surprised.... actually, I'm amazed.  I'm at 204.3. That's down 2.1 lbs. from last week. Only 4.3 lbs. to go to reach my goal.  :-D

I'm a bit fearful of Thanksgiving. I LOVE pumpkin pie. I look forward to it every year at Thanksgiving and Christmas. I had a tiny sliver of it at our work luncheon on Thursday, but I don't know if I'll be able control myself with the pie in my own house... I'll think of something.... maybe just a tiny piece... oh, crap!!!!  I'll have to fill up on salad and turkey.  :-(   Oh well, at least I won't be walking around saying, "I can't believe I ate the WHOOOOOOLE thing."

Well, I better go to bed now.  At least tomorrow is the end of the work week and I can look forward to a 4 day weekend.  And there will be NO black Friday shopping in my future... I'm broke!

What a week!

I've been avoiding writing this post all week. I don't know why, but I have. I gained 0.2 lbs. this week, but I'm okay with that. It's really nothing I can't overcome. I was even sticking to my food plan really well... until Thursday. We had our Thanksgiving luncheon at work on Thursday, and I ate too much! The will power and determination that I've had for the last three weeks just went up in smoke! There was pumpkin pie and sweet potato pie and that green jello salad with the mini marshmallows (I love that stuff!)... I did try to control my portions. I ate just a sliver of the pumpkin and sweet potato pies and just a couple of tablespoons of the green stuff, but boy did I feel guilty! I feel like I let myself down. I've been trying so hard to eat right, and I have for the most part, and I blew it on pie!

I was better on Friday, at least during the day... I stuck to my plan until I got home. I was SO exhausted when I got home, I let my tiredness get the best of me and ordered pizza for dinner. I only ate two slices, but not long afterward I fell asleep on the couch. I was in bed before 9PM.

Well, now that I look at it, I didn't do as bad as I thought. I didn't eat as much as I would have eaten in the past on a luncheon day at work. I didn't go home feeling all miserable like I've done in the past. I totally skipped dinner that night... I was still feeling full.

I'm pretty close to being back on track now. I made fajitas for dinner last night. No guacamole and only a small amount of sour cream on one of them. :-)  Tonight I had pork chops and rice... I really need to buy more vegetables for home! I eat a lot of spinach salad for lunch at work, but I don't have the same stuff at home for lunch on the weekends.

I'll get the hang of this! At least I'm actually trying!

Awesome Weigh In!

Great news! I lost 4.4 lbs this past week! I'm so excited! I wasn't expecting to lose that much at one time. I now weigh 206.2. Now I just have 6.2 lbs to go to get down to 200.

It's been a VERY long time since I've been below 200. I was about 180 when I met my husband in 1996. (We were both a lot thinner back then.) I've struggled with my weight most of my life. The only time I ever considered myself thin was at the end of my senior year of high school. I weighed around 120, which is good for my 5'3" frame. When I got to college, I put on the "freshman 15" and I just kept on gaining. I got married to my first husband just before I graduated from college. About a month after graduation, I got pregnant with my first child and gained even more weight. I managed to lose most of the weight I'd gained with my first child when I discovered I was pregnant again....

I've been on the "weight loss rollercoaster" ever since. Mostly because I've been lazy and haven't exercised or cooked healthy meals. I'm tired of being the lazy, fat, unhealthy person that I've become. My pending surgery has helped me focus on what I need to do to get back into shape. (and I don't mean round!) Health wise I am lucky that my body shape is a pear instead of an apple. I don't have high cholesterol or high blood pressure, and I'd like to keep it that way. I've promised myself I'm going to lose this weight! I'm so thankful for my family and friends who are so supportive and love me the way I am, but they know I'll be so much better off when I lose the weight and get healthier. I love all of you! Thank you for caring about me and showing your support.

Finally Getting Back Into the Groove

It's been too long since I've really tried to eat right.  I decided today that I want to follow the classic Weight Watcher's plan that uses food selections instead of the points system.  I've followed each of them before, and I was much more successful with the food selections.  To me, the points system allows too much flexibility.  I really have to have more structure than the points system provides.  I won't be going to any meetings, but we are still doing weekly weigh-ins at work.  I told the girl who keeps track of our weight of my plans, and she was very encouraging.  There is another girl at the office who is following a different program who was also encouraging.  I'm making myself accountable to her as well.  I'm hoping that a little more accountability will give me the small push I need to keep me on track.

Today was a challenging eating day because I didn't plan my grocery shopping this weekend. I bought the usual ground beef, processed cheese product, sugary cereal, white bread, and whole milk that have brought me to this point instead of the chicken, vegetables, whole grains, and fresh fruit that I need to be eating.  This will surely be a challenging week!  Fortunately, I DO have some tuna and oatmeal in the pantry and broccoli in the freezer.  (I just had broccoli for a snack!)  I might make it through the week with those. :-)

I took my measurements again.  My bust is 44", waist 41", hips 50", and thighs 26 1/2".  I have actually lost some inches since the first of the year... 1" in the bust and 2 1/2" in the thighs!  Wow! I figured it would be worse.  When I weighed this morning, my weight was 210.6 lbs.  That's a loss of 5.6 lbs since the first of the year.  Pretty sad for 10 months. :-( 

I'm going to be taking a trip to the grocery store tomorrow to get a few more healthy foods to get me through the week. I'll have to plan a menu for next week and plan my grocery buying accordingly.

Better get to bed for now.

Weigh In Day

I had my first official weigh in day of 2010 on Wednesday.  I weighed 212.4!!!!!  I lost 3.8 lbs in a week!  It's been a long time since I lost that much in one week.  I was very happy with myself.  :-)  Now I have to keep going.  I don't want to get back into the cycle of losing and gaining the same 10 lbs.

I've been pretty good at not eating too much that's fattening this week.  I've been having fruit and toast for breakfast, and salad for lunch.  Dinner has been a little more substantial.  We had baked chicken 2 nights this week, Subway one night, and sandwiches last night and tonight.  Our biggest problem is we haven't made menus or planned out our meals before we went to the grocery store.  I don't know about y'all, but I HATE going grocery shopping.  It's annoying to me to have to go back to the store to get something in order to finish cooking a meal.  We didn't plan really well for the entire week, so we ended up running out of the things we needed to cook proper meals.  The first goal for this week is to plan our meals and make a shopping list.

Gary and I have only been to the gym once this week.  :-(  We still haven't figured out a routine to get us on the right track.  I know, that's a lame excuse.  We're just going to have to put on our big kid britches and go!  We'll get that worked out.  I'm looking forward to getting into better shape.  The second goal for this week is to get to the gym more than once.

Over all I think my first week on my journey has gone well.  I'll keep working on those goals and get better habits as I go.  I know I can do it this time.  I'm determined.