Ocular Migraine

I have been getting these migraines with increasing frequency lately.  I can only assume it's related to the meds I'm on, because I never had them before, and they are often chemically induced.  It's the weirdest thing - they don't hurt, but I just get blurry flashes everywhere, for 20-30 minutes at a time.  I have one right now, and I'm working on a spreadsheet - it's not going so well.

I can't get over all the health issues I've had lately.  It's just so strange to me.  I'm seeing an allergist on 6/10, so I hope that will help out some...

I'm down 10 of the 15 lbs of water weight, and I hope the rest is gone within the next few days.  I would type more, but I really can't see the screen right now.  :)

Have a healthy and happy Memorial Day weekend!

Water weight

Today I was down 6 lbs of the 15 I was up from water weight yesterday, so that's a good step, but I'm still completely bloated, feeling gross.  We have a big event tonight, and I'm going to see people I haven't seen in ages.  I'm so disappointed that I don't look my best, but I suppose it's not all about me!  (Or at all about me, rather...)  ;-)

Tonight is Christy's art show.  I have no idea what I'm going to wear, and my choices are limited due to the recent extra inflation of my spare tire.  Yes, I'm uber attractive.  I'll figure something out - I have to!

I'm sure that I will continue to lose the water weight since I'm no longer on the steroids, but I want it gone NOW!

Thank you, bye.  :)

Not a pretty girl...

Ani DiFranco sings a song called "Not a Pretty Girl."  That would definitely be me today.  I'm so bloated from the meds I've been on, I'm up about 15 lbs from a week ago.  That is not a joke.  I feel like I'm just going to float away. 

Also, the pollen count is as high as it gets, to my understanding, so I woke up this morning with a big, fat, puffy allergy face.  My eyes are struggling to stay open, my cheeks, forehead and nose is just completely filled with pressure...swollen, hideous...

I'm going to do what I can to avoid salt as much as possible, and cleanse my system, but this is not a pleasant day for me.  I could barely fit my right foot into my shoe!

I'm glad to be off the steroids, even though with my allergies as they are today, I think I need them.  I know I need to move for my health...if only it were just that easy!

My Turn to Struggle

So perhaps it is not my turn to tri after all...

I had the best of intentions, and I still want to compete in a triathlon at some point this year.  If I miss the deadlines for the other races since I can't do the June race I planned on, I will stage a local triathlon with me and my friends.  Why not?!

All in all, I'm okay with where I am.  When I started this blog, I hadn't lost weight in a long time, and I was gaining and gaining.  Depending on the day, I'm down about 40 lbs since then, and even though I haven't lost in the past 6, I've done a pretty good job of keeping that weight off, especially while juggling a few health issues and major life events...

As one thing gets better, a new medical issue seems to creep up.  I'm now on steroids and a few other meds to help control my asthma and allergies which are really bad right now.  I know I really overdid it working out when I was on steroids last time, and I'm going to try not to make the same mistake this time.

I haven't been to the gym in a while, but maybe the steroids will prompt me to get back to it.  We are VERY busy planning for the art opening next week, so it may just be that I don't give my weight loss journey a full court press until then.  If that's the case, I'll live.  I do look forward to losing again, though!

I think I'd like to set a date of June 26th for my local, impromptu triathlon.  I need a goal to work toward in order to get on track sooner than later.  Who's with me??

Getting back on track

What a strange past few months I've had.  My health has been kind of terrible, my life has been a bit of a roller coaster, and I haven't spent the time on my healthy journey that I've wanted to.  As a result, I've been on a plateau for the past month, but again, I'm just so thankful I haven't gained. 

I'm back to work today, and I don't know if I'll have time to work out tonight, but I'm going to try to get to the gym, even if it's just for 20 minutes.  I think that just starting to get back into the routine is the best way to build it back into your life.  I'm not 100% with my health, but I think I could do a light work out, and I'm sure I could benefit from a little tanning session as well. 

Christy and I made a meal plan for the week, although it's Wednesday and we still haven't completed the grocery shopping yet.  Hmmm...  I guess it may turn into next week's meal plan.  That's ok too.  We are getting there. 

I'm going to try really hard to have a loss for next week's weigh in!!

Enough already!

I have been eating pasta alllllll week.  Like ALL week.  I am on some really strong meds for a couple different things, and it seems to be the only thing that I can get down that also coats my stomach.  I use way too much butter and salt on my pasta (it has to be wet for me to swallow it, and I don't always love red sauce), so I noticed I was up a few lbs (and my face looked like a fat balloon). 

Yesterday, I skipped the pasta, and I was down 3 of the 5 lbs I appeared to be up.  Good for me.  I'm sure by tomorrow the other 2 will be gone, because I know I was just retaining water.

I have been very sick, so I'm sorry I haven't blogged more lately.  I can't wait to get back to my routine of eating healthy, working out, blogging daily, etc...  Soon...soon...

Be well, skip the carbs. 

XO

;-)

Breakfast of Champions

Yup, that's right.  I had Dinty Moore for breakfast today.  I have hit a new low.

I haven't been feeling well this week, and I knew I needed some red meat, so I stopped by CVS and bought a DM this morning.  I ate as much of it as I could, but it was rather unpleasant.

I think I may have to have surgery soon.  I'm not supposed to be focusing on losing weight right now, and I really haven't been.  I'm supposed to be focused on getting in enough nutrients as well as getting the rest I need to try to get better.

Thankfully, my weight has been staying the same, and yes, I realize what a blessing that is. 

Someday I will be a healthy triathlete.  I can't wait. 

Move over Ralph Macchio

Christy is a 5th degree black belt, and she ran her own karate studio for 13 years...studied with Chinese monks, and in Japan as well...so she knows a thing or two about karate...she even made the US olympic team when she was 17.  Wow. 

Anyway, she is going to train me to be a black belt.  She said it would take 2-3 years, and I'm up for the challenge.  Heck, I'm already a white belt and we just started lessons yesterday.  LOL - in all fairness, showing up for a lesson earns the white belt, but I'm loving it.

Other than my allergies, I'm continuing to feel much better, able to eat, and getting my strength back.  Tonight, I'm going to the gym.  I've still been eating more and more, but I'm not gaining weight...I'm not losing either, but I will be again very soon.

I want to hit my goal weight by August, and I'm going to do all I can, in a healthy way, to reach that goal.

HAI!

Yay! Hiking!

Yesterday afternoon, Christy and I decided to hike Rock Rimmon.  I forgot my inhaler, natch, and I haven't worked out in months, so I had a little trouble breathing, but it was just wonderful being outside, in nature, getting a little exercise, etc... 

I'm so glad to be feeling better!  My allergies are quite rough, but I'm going to take some meds and hope to counteract that.  I look forward to a very active weekend of hiking, kayaking, and projects around the house. 

I'm up a few lbs, but I think my body is still just getting used to eating normally again, and that is okay.  I am going to burn them off in no time!

A yummy breakfast

For the past two days, I have had a delicious smoothie for breakfast.  It's made with half a banana, 5-6 frozen strawberries, a half a cup of low fat soy milk and a little splenda.  It's a very yummy and healthy way to start the day!

I didn't lose anything this week, but that's not a surprise since I'm finally taking in a lot more calories than I had been.  I didn't make it to the gym last night, but I spent 2-3 hours rigorously working around the house, so I must have burned something then. 

Tonight is Krissy's birthday, so I probably won't have time for a full gym work out, but I'm at least going to try to do something at the house.  I need to get back on track now that I finally have my health again.

Getting back to the gym

I feel like I have been sick forever.  I can't remember the last time I worked out.  Finally, at long last, I'm starting to feel like I'm ready to start working out and continue my training for the triathlon.  I'm going to start with swimming tonight.

I'm sorry for my absence, blogosphere.  I am back.  The weight loss is going fine.  I've finally been able to return to eating normally, so I'm on a bit of a plateau, but I know that once I start working out, I'll be on track to lose again.

Got Protein??

2 days ago, I went grocery shopping for the first time in probably 2 months.  I hadn't been eating much, and so I hadn't needed to.  I didn't have a list or a plan in my mind, but my body certainly had it's sights set on meat.  I got a roasted chicken, a whole chicken, chicken thights, a corned beef, turkey kielbasa, soppressata, pancetta, prosciutto, lamb, pork chops, turkey sausage (2 kinds), ribs and cornish hens.  LOL. 

I kind of went overboard, but it made me realize how much I was craving protein.  I hadn't had much in a while, and I needed it!

I'm finally starting to feel better.  I'm still tired and on the weak side, but I stopped taking all the meds I was on, and I've been able to eat a bit more, and I'm starting to feel human again...just in time for a beautiful weekend!!

Thankfully, I haven't been gaining any weight back even though I'm eating more, so that is a wonderful surprise.  Pretty soon I'll be well enough to start training again.  Can't wait!!!

Just 3 more to go!

 I'm now just three lbs away from my lowest point.  Finally!  It took me over a year to gain it, but less than 3 mos to lose it, so that feels good.

My health hasn't been great, but I'm on the mend.  My MDs told me to stop losing weight for now until my other health issues are resolved, so I haven't been really trying to lose, but I still am.  I'm just under 40 lbs down since January. 

Now I have a WAYS to go to reach my goal, but it feels good to be down the weight that I am. 

The verdict is in

I am extremely anemic.  This is no shock to me, although my iron and ferritin levels are somewhat shockingly low.  It's not shocking, considering how I've been feeling, but the levels are lower than they've ever been.  My MD wants me to take iron supplements, and they all make me very sick to my stomach.  Like, *very* sick to my stomach.  I don't know if I'm going to have a choice, though. 

I haven't had the energy to exercise in a while, but that's no surprise there.  On Monday, I had to lean up against walls so that I could stay vertical. 

The good news is that I continue to lose weight.  As of this morning, I'm just four lbs above my lowest weight since I was banded.  THAT is very encouraging news.  I can't wait to lose those last four pesky lbs and finally start getting closer and closer to my healthy goal weight.

Closer to my goal

As of today, I'm down a total of 35.8 lbs since the beginning of our contest, so that's about 3.25 lbs/week and I'm very pleased with that.  I have to give a big shout out to my sister, who has lost 23.4 lbs, and that is just amazing!!  She has been working out an hour a day and 2 hrs on the weekend.  God bless her.  :)

I haven't heard back from the MD yet on my bloodwork, and I hope I do soon.  I'm definitely feeling better than I was yesterday, but I'm no where near myself yet.  My stomach is finally feeling better, so I'm eating again.  That should help with the fatigue I was experiencing.  I just hope I don't gain weight as a result.  ;-)

Have a healthy, low cal day! 

Once again...

I'm under the weather.  I didn't sleep well last night, and I woke up feeling faint and very weak.  I've had a mild form of the stomach bug for four days now, and I am probably not eating as much as I should.  I went to the MD and they drew 3 viles of blood.  I'm not sure how that's supposed to make me feel any less faint, but maybe we'll know what's wrong with me by tomorrow. 

On the upside of all of this, I'm down about 5 lbs this week.  We'll know for sure tomorrow am.  One of my pairs of new jeans is fitting me loosely already, but I have plenty of other pairs to try to shrink into.  It's fun exploring my new wardrobe.

Another low

I was down a few more lbs today, and now I weigh less than I have in a year.  Yay.

Chipping Away

I'm down 1.2 lbs this week for a total of 31 lbs lost this competition.  I was hoping for a bigger loss since I didn't lose last week, but I'll take it!  Any loss is a good loss.

Today I'm wearing the black suit pictured in my previous entry.  My clothes have been so loose lately, I feel weird wearing something that fits, but I'll get over that. 

Last night, I tried on several suits that I had purchased last year with optimistic intentions, and I'm really not that far off from any of them.  I think within 10 or 15 lbs, I'll be wearing most of them, and that is exciting.  My wardrobe will grow, and I can stop wearing suits that are too big. 

I'm not sure how many weeks we have left of this competition, but I'm 9 lbs away from my goal of losing 40 during it.  Let's hope I can reach that goal!  It will put me just about at my lowest weight since I had surgery, and that will be a good feeling.

:)

Shopping in my closet

I realized that most of my smallest clothing appeared to be missing, so I went on a search this morning.  Sure enough, I found 3 basins full of clothing I forgot I had!  I'm a dope, but I'm a very pleasantly surprised dope!  :)

This suit was among the bins of my small clothing.  I have no idea when the last time I wore it was, but it was over a year ago, I'm sure.  I tried it on, and it was snug, but it fit.  The picture above was taken in August of 08 - I was roughly the same weight then, perhaps 5 lbs less, but nothing drastic. 

I showed my Mom and Darcy the suit, and they said the picture above captures how I looked in it, so that is exciting to me!!!  What a big difference in just a few months.

I'm more motivated now than ever to keep plugging away.

We went into Boston today, and I wore an adorable outfit, I must say.  I felt really good and stylish, and yes, still fat, but not offensively so.  Wearing clothes that fit you is huge.  My mom said the suit takes at least 15 lbs off me, and she's a very conservative estimator.  ;-)

I may just wear this suit every day.

My mother was also shocked that I am now wearing clothes that are only one size bigger than hers.  Watch out - I'm raiding your closet next, Mom!  :)

I found about 10 new pairs of jeans, a thousand shirts, and probably 20 pairs of shorts, so I'm excited that my wardrobe has grown exponentially in just one day.

Stay tuned for a much more fashionable me!

Spanx!

I'm trying to start wearing some of my smaller clothes again, but I can't seem to remember to suck it in all day, so I try to not wear clothes that require that.  Today, I wanted to wear one such outfit, but I realized that if I relaxed too much, I would end up in an unflattering situation.

I decided to break down and borrow Darcy's spanx, so I am all sucked in and ready for the day.  LOL - it would be much easier to go to the gym, I'm sure.  ;-)

I wasn't down any weight this week, and Alison was shocked because I've been eating so little lately, but I think it's from all the sodium I've consumed this past week.  First, with the corned beef dinners, and then last night on my loaded baked potato. 

I'm going to be much better about my sodium intake this week, and I hope to have another loss next week.

Good luck to my fellow losers as Alison will be posting the weekly stats soon!

The road to hell

They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions.  I can't believe that's the case, but I do think the road to fat is paved with good intentions, false starts, the best of ideas and a whole bucket of woulda/shoulda/couldas.  How many times have we started diets that lasted a day or even a meal, lost weight to only gain it back (and then some), planned to go to the gym but didn't quite make it, etc...?  Too many to count for me, I know that much.

I had great intentions of long outdoor bike rides this beautiful weekend, and so far, I have not even come close.  Although I'm on Claritan D, my allergies combined with my anemia have rendered me largely useless for this earth at present.  I did go into work for a few hours this morning, and I got a lot done, but I still have a great deal of homework to finish, a meal plan to develop, groceries to buy and then a work out to fit in. 

As I type this post, my heavy eyelids continue to slide down over my eyes, until I lift them up to let the light back in as I continue to type.  My allergies are truly debilitating, and I'm going to try to make an appointment with my MD tomorrow to see if I can get a shot.  I can't function like this anymore.

I'm also going to try to have an iron rich diet today to help combat the anemia.  I'm always up for a nice steak, so there's no sacrifice there!

For whatever reason, I have had health issue upon health issue for the past few years.  They have made my weight loss journey very challenging, and I have tried to fight back twice as hard to combat it.  When I can't exercise, I eat very little.  When I can exercise, I give it my all, thankful for every moment that I can.

My mind continues to pause under the fog of my weariness, so I will bid you adieu for now.  I'm thinking good thoughts in hopes that you are able to enjoy this gift of beautiful weather we have received, and I eagerly anticipate a day in the near future when I can write to you of my athletic conquests with energy and fervor.

They're baaaaaack

My allergies are back in FULL effect.  I slept for 10 hours last night, and I was still tired when I woke up.  Everyone at work asked me what in the world was wrong with my face.  Nice.  haha

My eyes were puffy, I looked very pale and I couldn't get out of my own way.  However, several hours, a liter of diet coke and a claritan D later, I'm doing much better.  My allergies are only mildly bothering me now, and my eyes are mostly open.

I don't know why I have such a terrible response to allergies, but I can tell you that I do not like it.  Feeling like this makes me too lazy to exercise.  All I can do is collapse after work, and I struggle to stay up until 8PM. 

Someday, when I grow up, I'm going to move to a magical place that doesn't foster seasonal allergies, and I'm going to be skinny and happy.

The end.

Outdoor training

We are expecting snow today and tomorrow, but it's supposed to be in the mid to high forties over the weekend, so I'm thinking it is time to start my outdoor cycling training for the marathon.  I've had plenty of practice in the gym, but now it's time to hit the streets! 

There are bike trails around, but I'll probably just ride the streets and see how that goes.  I'm going to try to find a 10 mile loop leaving from my house to use for practice for the triathlon.  Wish me luck!

Let the Corned Beef Begin!

Every year, Alison and I torture TJ with endless blogs about corned beef, water weight, and the like during St. Patty's season.  After all, we are ever true to our Irish roots, and we both LOVE a good corned beef dinner. 

Last night, I could wait no longer, and Darcy made my first corned beef dinner of the season.  Truly, it should probably be the only one I have, since it's SO high in fat and salt.  I don't eat much, but even the bit I ate had me up 4 lbs of water weight today.  I also ate dinner at 9PM, so I think that played a role in the gain as well.

I'd like to say the water weight will be gone tomorrow, but I have a feeling I'll have some more for dinner tonight, so we shall see what happens.  I wish I didn't love this block of salty fat, but I just do. 

I will have to make sure to freeze the rest of it that I don't finish by Thursday because I need to make sure the weight is gone by my weigh in on Tuesday!

OK, just for the fun of it

Before the contest started:                                       Now:

New jeans! (Take 2!)

My other new jeans that were pretty snug last week fit much better this week, and I thought it was time to buy another pair of short term "goal" pants, so I ordered the above jeans from Amazon today.  They were kind of expensive, but I noticed that I really like the way expensive things make me feel about myself, so I'm going with it.

After all, the better I feel, the more devoted I will be to my weight loss journey, right?  Right. 

I just found out my Mom is flying in to visit next week!  I'm so excited to see her!  She told me that she's not going to recognize me, which is funny because I just saw her 2 months ago, and I've only lost 30 lbs - I really don't think I look very different, but I'm sure she's THRILLED that I'll be that much smaller than the last time she saw me. 

I think I'll post some "before" and now pics shortly, so you can see for yourself.

Getting closer to my goal

I was down another 2 lbs yesterday, so now I'm just 13 lbs away from my recent low weight.  I can't wait to get back there.  I'd love to lose even more before the big weigh in day on Tuesday, but I'm happy with the 2 as well.  :)

More and more people are mentioning to me that they can tell I've lost weight, and I have lots of pants that I should really no longer be wearing.  I had missed the fun of losing weight this past year when I was struggling so much.

I think the fill did help, clearly, but only because it's enabled me to eat sooo very little.  It's the only reason I'm losing again, and now I just know that if I'm going to lose, I have to eat like a little bird, but as long as I'm taking my vitamins, seeing the MD on a regular basis, getting my levels checked, I should be fine. 

I had really hoped to be able to go XC skiing today with all this snow, but it's not that kind of snow.  It's wet, heavy, nasty snow.  Oh well.  I think I'll go sit in my hot tub and watch it fall for a little while.  :)

This is not chili

Karen was kind enough to pick me up some "chili" from the cafeteria today, and while the picture above is not it, it's almost identical.  It's really a vegetable soup, made of tomatoes, zucchini, summer squash, carrots, onion, corn, peppers, herbs and a few beans.  Now I can see why it's only 100 calories, though!

LOL, it's actually kind of good, but it's just a bit on the blandish side, and I have a feeling it's not going to be a good friend of my digestive system, but we'll know soon enough!

I'm looking forward to my dinner that I know I will like.  :)

It is not easy being skinny!  haha

Gas Station Breakfast

I haven't been doing a great job of eating breakfast lately, and I do know how important of a meal it is, so I'm trying to get better.  This morning, I reached into my box of Carnation instant breakfast to find a nice sugar free packet, only to realize, the box was empty.  Who left an empty box in the cabinet???  That would be me.  Oops.

I had to stop for gas on the way to work, so I decided I would pick up breakfast there - what better place to find a well balanced meal?  ;-) 

I quickly read through about 20 labels to find some type of bar that was low in calories, but had some type of nutritional value and I settled on a 110 calorie Pria bar.  It had 5 grams of protein, but I'm pretty sure the entire thing was a big chemical chunk.

I ate the whole thing, and it filled me up.  It wasn't that bad tasting, although the consistency was that of a 10 year old stale candy bar.  I'm not sure if it was stale or if that's just the consistency.

Either way, I was reminded of the fact that I need to stay on top of my grocery shopping.  I haven't been in a while, and I have no idea what I've been eating lately.  Yesterday, I didn't eat much of anything until dinner time, and then I overate to make up for the fact that I hadn't really eaten all day, so that was dumb.  The day before I had 1100 calories, so I certainly must have been eating something!

It's easy to let all the planning and preparation that are needed for success to slip away during a busy week or two, and all of the sudden, you find yourself making meal choices out of a selection at Mobil on the run. 

It's not just about losing weight, it's about being healthy too.  This weekend, I'm going to be sure to put together a meal plan for the coming week and do lots of healthy grocery shopping. 

For today, the cafeteria is offering a vegetable chili soup for 100 calories, which I will probably have for lunch, and for dinner, I'm going to XO, so I will plan to have my middle eastern taster platter, which is the hummus, tabouli, etc... 

I know I had a big loss last week, which makes this week all the harder, but I'm still going to do all I can to lose at least one lb this week.

Tired puppy

That's my little puppy at a beach house on the Cape last April.  He was sooo tired, he just collapsed on an end table.  LOL, poor little baby!

I am feeling better from the little flu I had on Monday, but I'm exhausted.  I've been sleeping 10 hrs a night, and even when I finally force myself to get out of bed, I'm completely tired. 

I feel like I'm constantly fighting off some kind of illness or injury, and it's a miracle I ever manage to lose any weight.  I wanted to work out last night, but by the time I got home from work, all I could do was collapse in my chair, just like Henry in the picture above.  haha

Today, I had great plans to work out before going into work, but once again, I was just too tired.  For some reason, I had a pretty big appetite yesterday, and I consumed 1100 calories which is a lot for me.  So I think I'm fighting off some type of sickness, and I'm just going to continue to get *plenty* of rest, drink lots of fluids and take my vitamins.

Naturally, I was up 2 lbs today from my 1100 calorie splurge yesterday, but I think it's mainly water weight.  I hope that, at least.  :)

I'm going to try my best to get a work out in today.  I can't wait for the warmer weather so I can start training outside for the triathlon!

Coming soon!

This is a picture of me at my (recent) lowest, and I think the picture looks thinner than I may have really been, but as of today, I'm just 15 lbs away from the weight I was when this picture was taken in August of 2008.  For the longest time, I couldn't get any traction with losing, and it was very frustrating, but I'm finally losing again, and I'm glad.

I have to admit, in order to lose weight, I've had to drop to very low calories like I did the first time around, but I'm taking lots of vitamins, and I'm monitored closely by MDs, so I should be healthy.

I hope to lose the remaining 15 lbs by the end of our biggest loser contest or sooner.  I lost 5.2 lbs this past week, so next week will probably be a very minimal loss, but I'm prepared for that.  I'm starting to wear smaller clothes, and people continue to notice, so it's good for momentum building.

I just need to stay on track and keep my portions small and my body moving and maybe I'll even reach my goal weight at some point!  Imagine that.  ;-)

What is wrong with this picture?

I keep seeing McDonald's ads announcing they are the official restaurant of the olympics.  How is that even possible?  Most of the ads are about Chicken McNuggets - not even one of their healthier items.  I can't imagine why the ultimate althetic event in the world would be affiliated with a restaurant that has contributed to obesity in such a profound way.

I guess it really is all about the benjamin's.  ;-)

Something is wrong...

I woke up feeling very tired and achy, and a little sick to my stomach.  By the time I got to work, I was completely nauseated.  I couldn't even make it to my office without first stopping by the bathroom to get a little sick. 

I'm trying to mentally talk myself out of being sick right now, but I'm not sure that it's working.  I don't want to be sick.  The upside is that the stomach flu usually makes me lose weight.  haha

Weigh in is tomorrow, and I know I will have a pretty good loss for the week, so I'm looking forward to that.

New Jeans!

I ordered these jeans on Amazon when we first started the biggest loser competition, and I knew they wouldn't fit at first, and I was right.  They are button fly, and I could button the bottom 2 buttons only, and there was major muffin top implications at that point.

Now, 5 or 6 weeks later, I can button all the buttons.  Yes, there are still some muffin top implications, but I'm living with it, and I'm going to wear these jeans today.  I'm excited.  I haven't owned a nice pair of jeans in...I honestly can't remember since when, but they were probably Z Cavaricci's!  LOL  I buy most jeans at old navy or marshalls, or even kohls...I never buy real designer jeans.

I'm excited to wear them today -we're heading into Boston in a Hummer stretch limo for Lanie's birthday.  We are going to be hanging out in the Fanueil Hall area, so I plan to buy more jeans today too!  I'm a shopping fool.  This time, I'll buy them even smaller.

It was fun trying on this pair each week, as they got closer and closer to fitting, and then today, it was such fun to realize they finally fit...at least well enough to wear today!  And since they are snug, I know I'll get months of use out of them too. 

I was down another lb today, and I'm about 17 lbs over my low point, so I'm starting to taste the victory of returning to my lap band low point.  I am kicking my efforts into overdrive, and I hope to lose this last 17 lbs by the end of our competition, if possible!

The dreaded doctor's scale

I had to go to the MD yesterday, and I wasn't looking forward to being weighed.  They like to weigh us every single time we go there, and it's kind of annoying.  For some reason, with shoes on and all, the scale showed me as down 35 lbs from the beginning of the year.  I know I switched scales at home, but I can't imagine it could be off by 10 lbs...that just doesn't make sense...

It was fun thinking for a minute that I could have lost that much.  hehe

I was going to tell them I thought it was off, but then I thought I'll just work really hard to make sure that number is actually right the next time I see them! 

I was down another 2 lbs this morning, and now I'm hoping to be down 5 lbs this week by the weigh in on Tuesday.  I've been keeping my calories low and working out again, so it may be a good week for a little boost in the weight loss, but I'll be happy if it's even 2 at the end of the week.  Any loss is a good loss!

A fun thing I have learned is that rolaids can stave off hunger for an hour or so.  :)

What's wrong with this picture?

I actually had those sneakers about 7 pairs ago... 

Anyway, my shoes are too big.  My socks are thinner than usual, but apparently my feet have somehow lost weight, and my shoes feel like clown shoes.  I'm not sure what to do about it.  I have these lovely DKNY shoes that I got about 6 or 8 months ago, and I wear them all the time.  I'm thinking of just buying another pair in a smaller size.

I'm so glad weight is coming off my feet instead of my waist line.  I know my feet were really offensive, and who doesn't like to admire a spare tire waist from time to time?!

LOL

I'm glad to be losing again.  I hope to be down another 3 by next Tuesday, which will put me at about 25 lbs total lost since the start of the competition, and that much closer to my goal! 

I was back at the gym last night, although I only went tanning and for a visit in the massage chair.  That must burn calories, no?  I did have a dance party with Henry for about 20 minutes last night.  He looked like he needed to get some wiggles out, so we put on the dance music channel and danced, danced, danced while Darcy laughed until she cried.

Henry's dance moves are hilarious.  He loves to jump on his hind legs and do a double fist pump with his front paws.  He really rocks the house.

The day before, I tried the exercise bike again for the first time since my injuries and cortisone shot.  I only did 4 miles, but it was fine.  Next time, I'll do 6, then 8 and then back up to 10.  That is the plan, at least.  I haven't been to the pool in a while, but it's long overdue, so I'm hoping at somepoint today or tomorrow I will fit it in.

Have a skinny day!

Exercise at work

My employer is very health conscious, which I love.  We have a pretty decent gym on site, trainings and classes offered for preparing healthy meals, wellness, fitness, etc...  When we have meetings, the food is always healthy, and as leaders we are encouraged to lose weight, quit smoking, and be healthy examples for the employees in the organization.

When I was shopping the other day, I picked up a kettle ball and resistence bands to keep in my office.  Since I'm in such a health conscious environment, I figured it wouldn't be strange if I decided to do some upper body work during meetings (LOL), or at the very least, when I'm on long conference calls.

My employees have stopped by and commeted on my new apparatus, and they have been trying it out and a few have made mental notes to pick up some items for their offices as well, if not at least at home.  So I guess I can set a good example for my employees, even though they are all much thinner than I am. 

Oh yes they did

This may not be news to you sweet tooths out there, but I'm not usually in the ice cream section of the grocery store.  Did you know that Edy's makes a low fat Samoas cookie ice cream??  Oh my, is it good.  It's just 120 calories for a half cup serving.

I decided to have a serving for breakfast today, and it was a truly delicious way to start the day.  LOL

Weight Loss

Weight loss is a roller coaster ride for sure.  I wish it was more like free falling.  Oh well.  I guess we wouldn't learn as much if that were the case. 

This week, I hit new temporary low - I weigh less than I've weighed at any point during the past 6 months...just by a little, but still.  I'm still well off from my lowest in the past 12 months, as I was at my all time (recent) low within the past 12 months, so when I hit there, and start losing even more, I'll finally be losing more than what I originally lost, and that will be wonderful - I'm about 20 more lbs away from that.

I'm down about 22 lbs from the start of this contest which was 6 weeks ago, I think.  I would really like to get down to my low point by the end of this competition, which gives me 7 weeks to lose 20 more lbs.  It's aggressive, but I think it's possible.  I'm going to keep my calories low, step up my work outs, and continue all the things that have been working for me so far. 

Crazy dieters

What's with all the crazy plans to lose weight lately?  Someone I work with is just going to eat fruits and veggies all week so that she can lose weight.  I asked her if she'd ever tried that before, and she said she hadn't.

Boy, is her digestive system going to be in for a surprise!  :)

I feel like I've been having trouble losing weight lately.  I don't know this for a fact because I don't have a scale that works, but I just feel bloated and my face looks puffy, so I don't think I'm losing weight.  Someone I work with told me my pants were clown big on me.  I think that was an exagerration, but considering they were on the tigher side 6 weeks ago, I know I must be losing.

I suppose I should get a new scale tonight, since the big weigh in is tomorrow. 

In the mean time, I'm trying to be careful about what I eat, getting in a well balanced diet, and eating what I need, but not a drop more.

Meal Plan

Saturday - I'm having grapefruit for breakfast, veggie nachos for lunch and probably going out to dinner

Sunday - Some variation of beef stroganoff made with rib eye

Monday - Chicken thighs with mixed veggies

Tuesday -  Chicken and veggie stir fry

Wednesday - Tacos

Thursday - Grilled chicken salad

Friday - going to a pot luck, so we'll plan to bring something healthy, perhaps a nice turkey chili crock pot

*****

I was reading all about braising in my GQ this morning, and they had a savory recipe with instructions for a pork shoulder.  A pork shoulder is a very tender, but fatty cut of pig.  I love it, of course, but I haven't made one since we lived in Lynn.  I almost bought one at the store today, but I don't think I'd even like it now...

I do realize my meal plan isn't very adventurous this week, but sometimes it's just about easy, yummy meals.

:)

Ew

I'm not sure why I chose this display of gluttony today.  I think it was because I was trying to think of food I may want to eat, and I couldn't come up with anything that seemed appealing.  I haven't eaten much the past few days, and I'm past being hungry.  No, I'm not on the Alison Ford 500 calorie a day diet (LOL, sorry, Ali, for some reason I had to bring that up just one more time) - I have just been really busy.

I don't appear to be losing weight as a result, though.  That is no fun.  I'm going out to lunch today, and I have no idea what I want to eat.  How many salads can a person possibly eat?

Any suggestions?????

Hello, PMS!

I don't know what happened, but my appetite is back.  Hello!  I hadn't missed you!  This is never my favorite time of month because not only do I eat more, but I'm bloated.  I appear to have had no loss on the scale this week, which makes sense under these circumstances.  I just hope it ends soon.

In the mean time, I need to sweat some of this bloat and chocolate out.  LOL

Hmmm....little glitch...

My scale broke last week from overuse, no doubt, so I brought in one of my other scales as a back up.  I stopped using it because it fluctuated too much and wasn't very reliable, so I'm not sure why I'm using it now.  I don't know how I'm going to record my weigh in tomorrow. 

Perhaps if I have time tonight, I'll go get the same scale as I had before.  I think it was ordered online, and I don't know if I can find it locally.  Either way, I'll have to guestimate something this week, and then going forward, I'll just start losing again from whatever number I'm on now.  I'm not sure how else to do it. 

I didn't make the best choices this weekend, although they weren't the worst either, and my portions were small, but I'm on a liquid diet today to even it out.  Carnation instant breakfast, it is!

Cortisone Shot

I got the shot today in my knee.  My MD warned me saying, "I'm not going to lie - this is going to hurt like a banshee."  LOL

I braced for the pain, and I only felt a mild discomfort.  As she was injecting the shot, I hadn't flinched or moved or anything, and she said she couldn't believe I wasn't moving at all. 

So she isn't going to re-up my physical therapy for now.  She said just keep doing the exercises and we'll see how I do with the shot. 

I'm going to start training again on Saturday.  She told me to take it easy today and tomorrow.

I can't wait!

Completely gagable

I choked a cup down mixed in with my Carnation instant breakfast, and I gagged the whole time, and now I feel like I'm going to be sick. 

LOL - I don't recommend it. 

Scientic Testing

I had my ultrasound yesterday, and they couldn't see any stones, which doesn't necessarily mean I don't have them, but the MD said my liver was fatty.  He said a fatty liver was common in obese patients or people with a high fat diet, and that if I make changes to my diet, I should be fine.

I didn't remind him that I kept a very low fat diet, as I had told him before, because he was just filling in for my normal MD and I have an appointment with her today, so I figured I would discuss that with her.

I'm still very overweight, so you may think it's just residual, but the weird thing is that when I had my surgery and I was close to my highest weight ever, the surgeon did an actual liver biopsy, and he said it really wasn't that bad.  He said it was a little fatty, but not as bad as you would think.

So how could it be fatty now?  Even though I gained weight last year, I can probably count on one hand the amount of times I went over 2000 calories/day (which is a normal diet), and in general, I averaged 1200-1500 (rarely) calories per day.  I only gained because my body was used to being in the 600-1000 range - not because I had a high fat or calorie diet.

Malnutrition can also cause a fatty liver, but I don't think that's it.  For the past month, not counting vegan week which was lower, I consumed an average of 848 calories per day.  That's low, but I certainly don't think it's malnourishment low.

Anyway, I've printed out some information regarding the nutrients I've taken in over the past month, and my pie chart showing how many calories, grams of protein, fat, etc... and I'm going to show it to the MD today to see what she thinks.

So why the picture of ribs?  I decided to do an experiement - a little scientific testing, if you will.  I have felt much better since I've been on the vegan diet, but I didn't know if that's because the problem went away for now, or because of the dietary changes.  Since I was seeing my MD today, I decided to order ribs for dinner last night.  I didn't eat the fat, but even without eating the fat, ribs are a fatty meat. 

I ate them, and I felt fine.  Well, technically, I felt gross, and I still do, but not because I'm in pain - just because my body did not like that fatty grossness being introduced into my system.  I don't know what I'm going to do about my diet, but I am going to discuss it with my MD to see what she thinks, and I'll take it from there.

Right now, I'm kind of turned off to all food, and I feel really gross and fat and bloated from my nasty dinner last night, so no more experiments in that direction any time soon.  I'm going to go very low cal and low fat today, focusing on fresh, clean foods.

A good start

We just completed week four of our biggest loser contest, and I'm down 18.8 lbs so far.  It's the first time I'm seeing the weight come off in a long time, and I am glad.  I'm not taking it for granted either - I know it could change at any time, but I have been VERY strict with my calorie intake, and I'm doing all I can to get the weight off.

I'm about ready to start working out again, and I may go swimming tonight to see how I do.  I'm still a little sore, and I *really* don't want to reinjure anything, but I also don't want to wait forever to work out again.

I was really hoping to lose 40 lbs over the course of this 13 week contest, and I know it's possible, but it's certainly not a given.  I'm going to have to work hard to get there, and then I'll be almost half way to my goal.  Ahhhh....that will be nice.

I love this contest, and I'm thankful for everyone participating in it, and I hope it's been helpful to them as well.  As a group, we are down almost 70 lbs so far!  Our pants can breathe a collective sigh of relief.  ;-)

It tastes better than it looks

I couldn't bring myself to have the tofu stir fry last night, so we went out for Indian food - there are always a lot of good vegetarian and even vegan choices on the Indian menu.  I ordered Mushroom Saag, which is basically mushrooms, spinach and a bunch of spices - sometimes there is cream or yogurt in it, but not the way it was prepared at the restaurant I went to.

I ordered it hot, and it was hot!!  I'm pretty good about spicy foods, but this gave me a run for my money.  I really enjoyed it, and I thought to myself - I could be vegan for life if I could eat Indian food every day.  :)  I normally get poori or naan with my saag, but since I'm gluten free this week, I skipped it.  I did have a very small amount of rice with it just to cut the hotness a bit.

I'm excited to have some of the leftovers for lunch today!  So I'm pressing on for at least one more day.  :)  I do want to try to make it the full week.  I haven't had any pain still.

Today is the biggest loser day, so I'm looking forward to seeing the results!  Good luck, everyone!!