WooooooHOOOOOoooo!!!!

So ask me how Weigh In went tonight? Go ahead, ask!! : ) In this past week I have lost

TEN POUNDS!!!!!

You saw that right. Ten pounds. Actually 10.2 lbs in one week. Oh yeah BayBee!!! Wooohoooo. I worked the plan all week - counted points - didn't "cheat", drank water - watched salt, no sodas, had my dairy, EXERCISED (hello?? what is up with THAT!?!), and guess what - it worked!!! TEN POUNDS!!! As DF said to me tonight on the phone "that is a Biggest Loser number!". Damn straight it is! lol


I am thrilled and also dog-tired so going off to bed. DF and I are going to Connecticut for the weekend - tomorrow night to the MGM Grand at Foxwoods to see Bruce Hornsby in concert which I'm really psyched for! : ) And the hotel we're at has a small pool and a workout room which means I am trying the exercise equipment. Me, on a treadmill, who'd a thunk!?! : )

I am GOING TO DO THIS!! I am losing this weight once and for all. I *AM* doing it. Ten pounds... gone. I'm 1/5 of the way to my first big goal. 1/9 of the way to my goal!!!! YEAH!


g'nite!

BloooOOOOooooated!

I'm feeling so incredibly BLOATED today... I weigh in tonight and my weight had best be DOWN 'cause I've worked the program all week AND exercised. But I think my old friend 'diverticulitis' (sp?) may have flared up as I feel like I have a Jackie Gleason belly this morning.

I rarely eat more than a handful of popcorn and I popped a 100 calorie bag of Jolly Time Kettle corn (1 pt for WW) last night and ate it all while watching American Idol. I don't think popcorn and diverticulitis go well together. That is what it feels like. I did take 1/2 a water pill with my normal asthma meds (actually this a.m. I took: 20mg prednisone, theodur, doxycyclin, 1/2 lasix pill, prilosec and 500mg puff of Advair). I've been trotting to the Ladies Room a little bit but nothing like Sunday. Thank goodness I only took 1/2.

(click on the blow fish graphic to see the full effect! *grin*)

I did 45 minutes on the WiiFit last night. I moved up into Advanced on Step Aerobics which - once I got the hang of it - was fun. I didn't try advanced yet. It always helps when you have the Wii platform aiming the right way... which I didn't... so when I was trying to 'head' soccer balls and would lean to the right - the graphic Mii would lean to the left... at first I thought it was part of the balance program... but then - BLONDE MOMENT - realized I had the thing turned around the wrong way. Amazingly so much easier when facing the right way. *grin*

I cannot do basic yoga moves without falling over practically. The WiiFit tried to break this to me kindly "You can't do these moves." lol I can ski jump with the best of them (from my old Killington Mtn skiing days, no doubt!)... and I seem to be able to hold the 'half moon' position in Yoga far longer than the Wii expected. All in all, still having fun ... the responses of the game make me laugh and I like how it charts your progress. I was down 1.2 lbs. last night (Wednesday) since 1st logging in on Monday and was wearing the same clothes. All good.

Back to work for me - tons to finish up today as I'm taking tomorrow off to go to Connecticut with DF. I have free tix to a Bruce Hornsby (love him!) concert at Foxwoods MGM and then we're spending two nights in Mystic, CT. I'm actually looking forward to it. : )

I plan to have Progresso 1pt soup for lunch and then that will be it (maybe a banana this afternoon) before WI tonight at 6:30.

BFN

Exercising...

I did, indeed, get the Wii Fit last night and - after procrastinating about setting it up for awhile - I actually set it up, logged in all my info and got going on it. It was A RIOT!! I found myself laughing because I am so incredibly uncoordinated. My first go-round with the step aerobics should have been filmed for YouTube! lol The little easy arrows with the step up and then step down and step over and then step up? OMG! LOL I felt like I was playing Twister part of the time... my feet were crossed and I was doesey-doeing! It was funny. I think the 1st attempt I got something like 17 right, 84 misses. I turned that around after three attempts for the 1st one was not to be missed! : ) I also am the age of a 62 year old... and my little Wii-Jan hung her head in shame! It really is fun. I have near perfect balance which the machine seemed quite surprised at! pfft. And I'm a whiz at the "soccer heading"... no surprise there, I've been banging my head against things in life for years! *grin* I was a little out of breath when done with 40 minutes but that is great for me! And I gained APs so even better.

Back tonight after I try to convince the Wii Fit I can follow directions! ; )

PS: I just realized that if I post the "before" photo I took last night when getting home from work (before Wii'ing) that it might not be so startling as posting it by itself in a separate entry... so (deep breath.............) here it is (and it is REALLY BAD... I took it, looked at it and four others I took and am NOT posting and thought "how did I let myself get to THIS?!):

Wrist measurement... jeez.

I measured my wrist this a.m. and I'm at 8" which seems really big. Wonder what it will be when I lose weight? Supposedly the wrist size does not change but I know that it definitely has due to how my watch band fits... article on same posted here: http://www.ahealthyme.com/topic/adam217182


I CAN do this! I have to remember that my life depends on it and that my family depends on my life. ; ) Maybe I should make a list of why I want to get rid of this weight the right way...

The Dreaded Posting of the Before Measurements

Ugh. Here we go...

46" Breasts (no pulling in... just 'as they hang'...good heavens!)
44" Waist
48" Backside (this one surprised me, somehow thought it was going to be smaller #)

17" Neck (at base)
28" Upper Thigh (pfft... cottage cheese thighs... just gross! but I'm working on it...)
19 1/2" Calf

I need to measure my wrist. Know it is large- it always has been even when at ideal weight. I'm "large boned".


Okay...that was hard to do (post the measurements)... but there they are and it is all part of facing the facts, going forward to a healthier me. My BMI is crazy bad. No need to post it.

Slow Sunday...

Hi - I am home today. It feels so great to just be home by myself - setting my own schedule, I can't even express it! Got up and went to church which I really enjoyed. The Episcopal church in Arlington has a jazz quartet during parts of the service and they are really awesome. And the priest (we call them Priests in the Episcopal church, too... not just Catholics have that practice) is great... love his sermons. They always leave me with so much to think about and try to act on.

And finally the weather here is getting nicer... I saw the 1st robin of Spring yesterday, and it is sunny out today - probably in the 50s or low 60s. But I am inside and cleaning and boy-oh-boy does my bedroom and bathroom need it. It is so dusty which is awful for my asthma so I am cleaning.

Being OBESE (yes, I am... may as well admit it rather than pretend otherwise) does not make it easy. I'm vacuuming window blinds and under the bed and I'm huffing and puffing and sweating. JEEZ!!! How did I let this happen. I decided since I was going to be home today anyway I may as well take a water pill. It hasn't upset my stomach which it sometimes does, so that is a blessing - but it sure is working! lol I was doing things downstairs when it first "hit" and I was running up and down stairs so often I decided to just 'give in to it' and clean upstairs! *grin* I bet I've lost a couple of pounds today in water weight!! My ankles aren't as swollen up as usual from the water pill working... usually I have ankles like the ugly step sister to Cinderella below!

The water retention (and the fact I needed to recover a few minutes from cleaning before I get at it again) made me sit down to look for water reduction remedies and I scored a great article which is http://health.howstuffworks.com/home-remedies-for-water-retention.htm. Most of the things I have been doing - well... let me rephrase that... most of the suggestions I *know* about and *should be* doing. I do drink cranberry juice... I do eat bananas. I do drink a lot of water. But I'd forgotten about cabbage being a diuretic naturally... and yogurt stimulates the system to work properly... I eat plenty of yogurt during the week so that is covered. The other weird thing is that I have had sarcoidosis in the past and the most recent manifestation has been on my leg, just above my right ankle and up and onto the shin... showing in red blotches that do not - whether the sarcoid is active or not - disappear. Pretty ugly to look at. But - nothing I can do about that so I choose not to worry over the look of it. I worry plenty over the things I *can* do something about. : )

Off to log in my food for today on the Weight Watchers site!!

Peeking around the web...

I was looking through images this morning because I took my measurements after I got out of the shower. (Yikes!) I will be posting those later as I left the slip of paper they're written on upstairs and don't want to trudge up to get them to log them. But I found some extraordinary images... I guess it proves that as many people that look so much better than me, there are also those who look alot worse. I was really struck, though, by the image below from National Geographic of an overweight woman. I would say, sadly, that this is fairly accurate to how I look naked right now... the image goes with this url:
http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/health-and-human-body/human-body/fat-costs.html

and the story is encapsulated by:
Americans enjoy one of the most luxurious lifestyles on Earth: Our food is plentiful. Our work is automated. Our leisure is effortless. And it's killing us.

Time to become accountable...

"I am worth the effort" I say to myself over and over inside my mind. "I am worth it... I can do this... I *WILL* do this...", I repeat in mantra-like reply.

But I haven't been 'doing this' and I continue to start and then stop... self-sabotaging. I mean, what the heck AM I doing? I am closer to 300 lbs. than 200 lbs. And I should not even be near to 200 lbs. But here I am. That's the reality.

As of last night, when I went back to the Weight Watchers Thursday night 6:30pm meeting, and weighed in for a restart (yet again!!)... I weighed in at 273.6 pounds. !!! Hello?? Linebackers on NFL football teams weigh less than I do. I will say this... I purposefully weighed in with my jeans and my cotton heavy fisherman sweater on... KNOWING that next week and from here on in I would weigh in every week with the same pair of sweats and tank top on. I strip down to those two items weekly so I can't blame any unexpected weight flucuations on my clothes. 'cause I *know* myself... I would absolutely say "I don't know what happened, I should have lost this week - it (here it comes...) must have been the clothes I was wearing!" Mhm. Well, there goes that excuse. ; )

I have been hesitating to contact Kelley from my 8 weeks WW group of friends, too. I know that I want to be accountable to someone other than the group of friends and that I *need* to be honest with someone when I totally screw up. I like Kelley - she and I seem to have a lot in common besides weight... we're both compassionate people, not afraid to offer our advice, we're Christians, proclaim our faith, and we're not too far off in age. I am 50 and will be 51 in June.


I've actually been 'on program' completely for well over a week now. My asthma has been pretty bad for about three weeks now and, because of that, I'm back on prednisone and an antibiotic trying to fight off this bronchitis I've had for nearly three weeks, too. As a result I am swollen up on my legs, ankles, hands. But not *as bad* as I have seen it in the past because I have been trying to remember to reduce salt/sodium intake.

I've finally been making good choices for foods, cooking most of my own meals, deciding on salad bar and veggies at the work cafeteria over their 'daily hot special' which always is good but so loaded with calories. DF bought us the Wii (well 'me', actually but he'll use it on the weekends at the Lake with me) and I have been doing that faithfully for the last week. Only the sports games that come with the Wii, but I've ordered the Wii Fit and am hoping that may be here on Monday from UPS. I couldn't decide whether or not I should buy it - my finances aren't great and I refuse to charge things on credit - but my mantra of "I am worth it" rang in my mind and I can make lunch and dinners for a few weeks and put the money I may have used aside and have paid for it. So... that's what I did.

"I am worth the effort!"

Time to Make the Change for Health

I am so uncomfortable in the 'body I am in'. I *must* change my lifestyle to support losing the weight I need to lose. It is no longer an option for me... I feel miserable. My health is deteriorating. My asthma is out of control... and I CAN change this and MUST. The link is to a list of questions about 'if you are ready to exercise' which I found helpful in a blog today when searching for photos quickly:



I am definitely an 'apple shape' now... so heavy in the mid-section that I cannot blame it all on peri-pause!

And what is the difference between the obese women in the photo below and me (other than obvious sense of style issues...lol)? They are EXERCISING!


I am going to die if I don't make changes. This is serious business. : (


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