I was wary going to weigh in last night because 1) I'd been on vacation in Austin and had been eating less carefully than I do at home and... 2) my birthday was Tuesday and as a result I had cobbler with ice cream in Austin with DS and his GF, DF got me a little delicious individual serving cake for my birthday, and a slice of cake with the girls at my office when they surprised me with cake! Sooooo... being that I was on a plane on Tuesday and weighing in Thursday and my ankles still looked like grapefruit, I was "concerned".
NO NEED!
I gained one pound ONLY! Which I consider a Non Scale Victory (NSV)! One little pound which - when I stepped on the scale at home this morning - was already gone and I was done into the 240s (barely, but it had 249.6)! So I was psyched.
While I was on vacation I truly did make conscious choices about my food. I avoided cheese and heavy sauces and opted for the fresh, spicey tex-mex foods. I ate one hot dog at the ballpark and didn't get crazy with any huge food frenzy. I had a few margaritas over the time I was there, a glass of wine. But I also walked alot and swam a couple of times and got exercise when I could. Plus the 90+ degree heat doesn't make you want to eat too much. My big night was a planned night out for bbq and it was soooo delicious! I ate a huge plate full and enjoyed every bite and had cobbler following which we shared. That was the only night I felt uncomfortable in a long time. I noted that feeling and don't want to feel it again.
So one little pound isn't gonna wreck me... quite the opposite, I'm motivated. Also... what I really want to remember is the wonderful woman I met at last night's meeting who has lost 101.6 lbs. AMAZING! She is probably late 50s and is a little slender woman now. Probably about my height at 5'9" or so and so nice. She told her story during the meeting and showed her pants (size 26) and blouse (3x) that would not button on the bottom. She passed around a photo of herself. But what she SAID was what got to me...
She took it slowly and stuck to the plan. She makes a lot of her meals herself and plans everything. It took her over 18 months to lose it all. Now she is a lifetime member. She talked about how she regrets she didn't lose it earlier and all the problems she has had due to the weight - knee replacements, broken bones, etc. Not good! She has photos of herself at family events she cannot look at without crying. I know that feeling. She'd lost 70 lbs. before her daughter's wedding and you could see how proud and relieved she was to be able to say that.
Her name is Donna Parker and she lives in the town next to me. She talked about doing the Avon Breast Cancer walk with her friends for the first time and how great it was. We talked after the meeting in the parking lot for a bit and she was sooooo inspirational. She showed me the packet of Kraft Free dressing she carries in her purse... and encouraged me on keeping the almonds with me for a quick pick-me-up plus told me that it is great for asthmatics who need to counteract the prednisone in their system.
I feel blessed to have gone to the meeting and heard her speak. To have met her... and I told her so. To meet someone who has lost 100+ lbs. was so good for me.
People Magazine 2007 100+ Loser feature
She did it. I can do it, too. We need to be as important to ourselves as other people in our lives are to us. In fact, we need to put ourselves FIRST and lose this weight and get healthy.
We're the ones who can do this. No one else can.
No more excuses/lamenting for me... forward... onward... I can see a beautiful happy healthy woman at the end of this journey and I'm not going to veer from that path!
(This is where you all shout "Amen, sister!" lol)
Last Night at the Meeting
On Never Giving Up, Never Quitting When the Goal is In Sight!
An Inspirational Poem
"Don't Quit" by Edgar A. Guest
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
when the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
when the funds are low and the debts are high,
and you want to smile but you have to sigh,
when care is pressing you down a bit - rest if you must,
but don't you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns.
As everyone of us sometimes learns.
And many a fellow turns about when he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow - you may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than it seems to a faint and faltering man;
often the struggler has given up when he might have captured the victor's cup;
and he learned too late when the night came down,
how close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out - the silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
and when you never can tell how close you are,
it may be near when it seems afar;
so stick to the fight when you're hardest hit - it's when things seem worst,
you must not quit.
More Food for Thought on Quitting
Before success comes in any man's life, he's sure to meet with much temporary defeat and, perhaps some failures. When defeat overtakes a man, the easiest and the most logical thing to do is to quit. That's exactly what the majority of men do. Napoleon Hill
Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit. Vince Lombardi
"Don't Quit" by Edgar A. Guest
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
when the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
when the funds are low and the debts are high,
and you want to smile but you have to sigh,
when care is pressing you down a bit - rest if you must,
but don't you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns.
As everyone of us sometimes learns.
And many a fellow turns about when he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow - you may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than it seems to a faint and faltering man;
often the struggler has given up when he might have captured the victor's cup;
and he learned too late when the night came down,
how close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out - the silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
and when you never can tell how close you are,
it may be near when it seems afar;
so stick to the fight when you're hardest hit - it's when things seem worst,
you must not quit.
More Food for Thought on Quitting
Before success comes in any man's life, he's sure to meet with much temporary defeat and, perhaps some failures. When defeat overtakes a man, the easiest and the most logical thing to do is to quit. That's exactly what the majority of men do. Napoleon Hill
Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit. Vince Lombardi
Restoration
I'm writing this at 5:30pm EST June 2- my 51st birthday - as I travel home from Austin, TX... somewhere over the Eastern US ~
res·to·ra·tion
Pronunciation: res-tə-ˈrā-shən\ Function: noun Date: 14th century
1: an act of restoring or the condition of being restored: as a: a bringing back to a former position or condition : reinstatement
I arrived on the night of Friday the 29th of May and drove straight from the airport to meet DS at his apartment. He came out with GF and I was sooo thrilled to see him. I felt pretty good about the weight I have lost. It felt so incredibly good to be on the airplane and not feel so BLOATED! I didn’t have to worry about whether or not the seatbelt would fit around me, too… so huge nsv there. I just honestly felt better about myself. I realize I still have a long way to go but I am ready to really spend the next four weeks (until 4th of July) on one heck of a mission.
NSVs this week:
- No asthma difficulties
- The plane ride. No worries about the seat belt.
- Swimming in the pool with DS & his GF and then by myself
- Walking without having to stop
- My clothes fitting fine or being a little big! (Big!!)
- Being in 90 degree + weather daily and not having it slow me down other than what it would anyways
- Not ordering fattening food
- Even when out with DS, watching what I’m eating – making conscious decisions about food
- Realizing after the night we went for bbq the harm it did to my system both with upset stomach and then with the bloat of salt intake, an awareness has been born, not just mindless "eating to eat"
Water. Tons and tons of water.Walking. I like to walk… and I’m going to do so every morning.
Wednesday, June 3rd – 10 mins
Thursday – 10 mins
Friday 15 mins
Saturday 15-30 mins.
Sunday 15-30 mins.
- Orientation tour/workout at the Y
- Swimming at the Y
- Spin and pilates at the Y
- Wii Fit 3x weekly (buy the boxing gloves for Wii w/birthday money)
- Weekly WW meetings
- Track everything that goes into my mouth (BLTs - bites, licks, tastes)
- Keep journaling and checking in on 100+ and 8 week forums
That's all for now - landing soon ~
A ha! Moments...
No, that isn't me. *grin*
I haven't written this past week and cannot believe how quickly the time went!
The time at my Mom's house with my brother was... as I like to make my visits there... "short and sweet". It is the "short" that keeps it "sweet". lol For instance, we drove from my house in Boston to visit her on Sunday afternoon - about four hours or so with stops along the way. We went out for a nice dinner (I stayed SOOOOO on plan, it was great - not even any desert for Mother's Day!) and then came home.
By 8pm Mom was ready to get back into her regular routine (aka, she'd seen us enough!!) and TOLD us not to talk while her show (one of many... but this one was the Apprentice final show) was on for THREE HOURS!! My brother took off for awhile to just get out of the house and when he came back she 'shhhhushed' us to be quiet so we say in the dining room to talk while she was in the living room. She would turn down the volume while the commercials were on to see if she could hear what we were saying! lol My mother is a trip. Oy!
We stayed overnight and saw my uncle the following morning for breakfast and had a nice, friendly reunion with him. Then we said goodbye to my Mom and took off for Boston again. My brother wanted to do some shopping at an outlet mall on the way home so we stopped, he shopped, and I leaned up against the car in the sunshine while he bobbed around. He left the following morning but we had a nice dinner that evening with DF. We went out to Chili's which was a bit of a struggle for me, but I made good choices and felt in control.
I have to tell you that I LOVE Chili's "classic nachos" but a few weeks ago I read on dietfacts.com that the regular serving is 37 POINTS!!!!
THIRTY SEVEN!
1450 calories without the guacamole (which, I would slather on, of course!!) and 108g of FAT!!!
And I wonder why I have over 100 pounds to lose in total? I would think nothing of having the nachos FOLLOWED by a chipotle bleu cheese burger plate... another 27 points!!!
When I say "Holy Cow", I was eating like one! Jeez!
But with the WW program comes knowledge, so I know better now. I am not saying I will never eat Classic Nachos at Chili's again, I know I will... but I also know each nacho chip is about 2 points, so it would be a good appetizer to share (new concept for me!) instead of eat on my own or as a meal!
But with the WW program comes knowledge, so I know better now. I am not saying I will never eat Classic Nachos at Chili's again, I know I will... but I also know each nacho chip is about 2 points, so it would be a good appetizer to share (new concept for me!) instead of eat on my own or as a meal!
BACK LATER... WI is tonight (Thursday) for me and I'm hoping to get below the 250 mark... it would be sooo great to finally get on 'the right side' of 200 (not that there IS a 'right side' of 200 other than 100+, but you know what I mean...)!
This and that - - -
I think it helps me stay accountable if I go to meetings and keep checking in on the WW boards. The girls are all so nice on the 40+ group that I tend to always check in there, but I've also been posting on the 100 pounds to Lose group and they're a fantastic bunch, too. And, like me, they have a lot of weight to lose. A few are really inspiring, too. One of the girls, Sondra, was a "Success Story" in this past issue of WW Magazine and also is in the online success stories. And she's just as encouraging and nice as could be as she has BEEN THERE and now is running marathons! : ) Pretty inspiring stuff!
If I drink three big 64oz bottles of water daily (they say you're supposed to drink your weight in oz!), that does seem to help me keep on the right path. I also think it helps keep me full... well... let me rephrase that... "fullER". I don't remember the last time I was truly push-that-away-I-couldn't-possibly-eat-it full. So weigh in was disappointing for me last night. I only lost one pound this past week. I know it is still 'in the right direction' but - jeez! ONE pound? Not even 1.2 lbs.? lol C'mon!! I am consoling myself by believing that it is more than that and next week will be a huge loss when and if I finally get my period. I HATE peripause. I just am so darn achy - and not in the most cheerful of moods. Blah. Oh, and I purposefully stopped at the local market on the way home from the meeting and bought tons of fresh veggies and fruit but ALSO purposefully bought not one - but two - cinnamon rolls and this chicken salad and dinner rolls I have been craving. Ate them all last night. I knew what I was doing - I know it means I am out of flex points for the week but I did it - I got it over with - I logged in the points (yikes!!!) and it is over. The scale showed no difference this morning but I am sure it will. I got THAT out of my system!
Do you have plans for Mother's Day?
More soon - - - I feel like I am writing a book here! lol
Big hugs and happy (early) Mother's Day!!!
Jeeeeez I am hungry...
It *has* to be ToM 'cause I am still on plan only 'cause of the weekly flex points. I have been really battling to stay "healthy" here... but I want a box of chocolate candy in front of me and me with my feet plopped up on some divan (who even has those things?! lol) and feeling all "oh, man .... this is the life"... maybe a glass of wine within arms' length, too! *grin*
I'm sticking to it - but I have to tell ya - it ain't easy these past couple of days. Boy-oh-boy!!
I guess I really DON'T want to look like the illustration below but she does look like she's enjoying herself! : )
But... so the saying goes... nothing tastes as good as thin feels. Tonight I'm having a hard time believing that, but I'm trying!
That would be TWENTY pounds gone... unhuh...unhuh.... : )
Can I just say...
TWENTY POUNDS
TWENTY POUNDS
GONE
And NEVER Never comin' back...
And 1/5 of my way to 100 lbs. lost!
Next goal is is to get below 240. Somehow that will seem incredible. The difference between saying I weigh 270-something and 230-something just seems light years apart!
But it is only weight - to keep it in perspective - the goal is healthy, long life. Happy healthy long life. Happy healthy damn-I-look-good long life! lol
I'm back on the blog... filling in my missing posts tonight and this weekend!!!
I CAN and WILL and AM doing this!!!
I am a strong, positive women... this weight is not something that should be holding me back... I should face it head on - and overcome it! And I do know - with God, everything is possible! : )
Staying the Course...
Okay, so I took a photo because I could not believe how "on plan" my frig is! lol Check out all the fresh veggies and low or no fat condiments, etc. How about that? Gone is the 12 pack of Pepsi, no big slabs of American cheese, no leftover pizza, no high-cal nuttin' there! And I have been cooking for myself nearly every night as opposed to going to some fast food place and spending too much and having empty calories that only left me hungry later on to go 'grazing' in the kitchen come 8:30 or 9pm. The amazing thing, too, is that I'm happily trying new recipes I'm finding on Weight Watchers online or in magazines. I've been making Mexican a couple of times a week with chicken breast, onions, peppers, and am love, love, loving Mrs. Dash seasonings! They're low salt and have all different flavors. My two favorites right now are the chipotle and the lemon pepper. Both are great!
It finally feels RIGHT to eat this way... to taste the actual taste of fresh foods and not just whatever sauce I ladeled over or slathered on bread to have with the foods.
NSV: Hiking up to Abenaki Lookout tower in New Hampshire
My asthma had been giving me fits for a month or more the day this photos was taken. The winter saw me have the flu, then bronchitis, and then a really bad bout with a sinus infection. When this photo was taken on Sunday, April 19th, I could barely make it up the hill to the lookout tower. DF and I were up at Lake Winnipesaukee for the weekend and he had promised me that on weekends we could walk to get my "activity points" in for the week. The back-story here is that last summer, on a hot and humid day, we'd stopped by the same trail and I couldn't get even 1/2 of the way up before I had to turn around and head back to the a/c of the car.
I was determined NOT to let my asthma, poor breathing get in the way this time. DF was so good about it - he stopped with me along the path - encouraged me to take it slow - even said "look, my heart is beating fast too, it isn't just you that needs to go slow", so slowly but surely we made it up there and the lookout tower steps looked impossible to me as I leaned against the base, breathing hard.
But then I thought to myself, "I can do this. I can catch my breath and go up to the top." And so, flight after flight of stairs, I climbed, rested a second, climbed the next set of stairs. Up and up 'til we made it to the top. The photo below is me realizing that I'd overcome my fear... it was a true smile of accomplishment. Not only had I given myself the time to get up there and not backed down from the challenge, I overcome the occasional fear I have experienced since my asthma worsened of "oh my God, what if I get (wherever seems remote) and I have a problem and I can't get (fill in the blank... "down" or "out" or "into")?" So it was two victories in one climb and the view was soooooo worth it!
Another view of the lake in very early spring in New Hampshire just as the trees were about to begin to bud...
My Reasons to DO This!!
I am going to post a list of the reasons that I want to and am losing weight. The reasons may not be all health related, may seem silly, or may make no sense to anyone but me... but, darnit!, I need to have a list where I can reference back to and re-read and remind myself when I am about to screw up.
The reasons I want to lose weight:
- To be healthier
- So I won't wheeze when I walk somewhere
- To feel comfortable when bending over to pick up something
- So I can see old friends and not be totally embarrassed by how much weight I have gained (this is a MAJOR one!)
- To be more social and enjoy going out more often in public
- To not feel self-conscious of whether something I am wearing is too tight, about to rip, etc.
- So I can go into a restaurant and not worry whether or not I can fit in the booth : (
- Because I know my asthma will improve considerably
- So I can do things with DS like we used to do all the time, i.e., riding bikes, playing frisbee, going golfing, tossing the baseball, walking around and exploring
- So I won't have like four chins and when I look down my chin doesn't receed into my neck fat
- So I can pull my knees up into my chest to paint my toenails! : )
- So I can touch my toes without a problem
- Because I want to not be self-conscious all the time when in public
- To be able to say "sure, I'll try that" and not panic "what if" about my weight keeping me from something
- To feel sexy again
- To wear whatever funky clothes I want to like I used to and not have it look like it may be the only thing I can fit into!
- TO HAVE PHOTOS OF MYSELF AT SPECIAL OCCASIONS!!!!
- So I don't have this voice of my Dad in my head saying "What's happened to you?" : (
- So I can casually fit into a conversation "well, I lost 100 lbs. once" and see people's jaws drop because they won't have ever imagined I could weigh anything more than 150 lbs.
- To be a Weight Watchers success story and inspire others that if I can do it, they can do it
- To play tennis again
- To wear a bathing suit that wasn't the only one in the store that quasi-fit so I settled on it
- To go back to Ireland and not think twice about whether or not I feel good enough to do things
- So airplane seatbelts won't be a source of fear!
- So my doctor will be damn proud of being right that I can do anything I put my mind to
- So I can dress up for DF and feel great by the look I see in his eyes when I am out with him
- So I never again have to worry that something I eat may trigger me to eat 'til I feel like I need to sleep from being so full
That should do it for tonight!
It looks like I have plenty of reasons to continue losing this weight! : ) I'm aiming for one-derland by Columbus Day weekend in October and I *know* I can do that if I concentrate and focus!
Together We Will Do This!
My church's Lenten sermon on Ash Wednesday was about using this Lenten season to concentrate on 'what is God's plan for me' and 'am I living up to God's purpose for my life, to my God given potential?". My answer was 'no, I'm not'. I think my weight is detrimental to how I feel about my own personna, I *know* it is. I don't do social events because of my weight... I am the most social person in the world, too... but these past 10+ years, I have just gotten heavier and heavier and shrunk back from 'real life' more and more.
So, I'm doing something about that. Weight Watchers and my friends there will help. It takes someone else who is struggling at the same size to know the battle, you know? I have wanted a hershey bar all day.... badly! I keep fighting internally about it and have made it through and know I will... but man! I *really* want to taste chocolate. I know if I had one kiss, it would end up being 20. : ( Ugh.
Weigh in for me was last night. I lost another 4.8 lbs. in the past week so that makes a total of 15 lbs. in two weeks. I'm out of the 260s and into the 250s (barely!). I want to get to 240 in the next month... that is my goal. 240 by May 1st. I also had another member of the group take a photo of my WW leader, Judi, and me so I could have a record of the beginning of this journey! ; )
Not a good photo of Judi who is usually laughing and so animated...
she looks sullen here which she, definitely, is not! And I will
wear this same outfit every Thursday night for WI so I can't
say my clothes were heavier from one week to the next.
Monday and Back At It
DF and I went to Connecticut for a long weekend this past weekend. We both took Friday off and drove there in the early afternoon, checking into our very nice room and then changing and going off to the MGM Grand for the Bruce Hornsby show which I'd gotten free tickets to. The show was amazingly great - I enjoyed every second of it!
I tried to keep on plan all weekend and did a pretty good job. I did have unaccounted for popcorn out of DF's bag at the movies on Saturday night but other than that (maybe 4 pts total) I counted everything. Even the glass of white wine with dinner. And AT dinner at a steak house on Saturday night I had already checked out their menu online and knew what I was going to order before hand... 8 oz of steak tips kabob. And it was delicious. Plus this restaurant had a really simple but good salad bar with great choices. And a baked potato and I measured out one Tbsp of sour cream and butter. A piece of rye bread (plain) and that was it. No dessert. : )
So here it is Monday and I'm back on plan. I plan to Wii it tonight, too, so should get some activity points logged. I'm on my way to making all of this habit and not so difficult, I hope! One thing I want to keep track of, and so am posting it here, is that the Prevention Flat Belly Diet really is all about including MUFA (monounsaturated fatty acids) into your diet. That can easily be incorporated into the WW food plan, so I'm posting some articles I found quickly on the web that include what foods MUFAs are. The bulleted list below is from different web sources:
- Most foods contain a combination of different fats. Examples of foods high in monounsaturated fats include vegetable oils such as olive oil, canola oil, peanut oil, sunflower oil and sesame oil. Other sources include avocados, peanut butter, and many nuts and seeds.
- Olives
- Olive oil
- Peanuts
- Dark chocolate
- Popcorn
- Almonds
- Nuts
- Nuts like almonds, walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts/filberts, Brazil nuts, pistachios, Macadamia nuts
- The four categories of MUFA that I like are oils, nuts and seeds, avocados and olives, and chocolate. Oils are specific, like Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Grape Seed Oil, and Soybean Oil. If you sautee your chicken in one of these oils, and put it on a mixed green salad with cheese and eggs, you have done great with a low-carb meal, and including your MUFA. The nuts and seeds category includes a lot of different snacks. Peanuts, walnuts, pecans, pistachios, and sunflower seeds are all on the list. These can be a quick snack, or you can add them to your meal. Pecan Encrusted Tilapia is a great way to include your MUFA, and be high protein at the same time. The avocados and olives category is pretty self explanatory. Olives make a great snack with some cheese. Avocados are great to add to your salad, or you can make a tasty guacamole to dip your low-carb tortilla chips in. Finally, my favorite, but least often consumed MUFA is chocolate. Dark chocolate, especially, is a good MUFA. Living low-carb, though, you must try not to have an abundance of chocolate, as it is not a low-carb food.
Since I love avocados (but they are horrendously HIGH in calories!!!), that is an easy choice. I'm not big into nuts but I like almonds well enough. I could try to add those into my diet. EVOO is easy... and I do have Flaxseed Oil tablets I should be taking so will begin that regimen again to increase daily MUFA intake. We'll see if it helps, I guess! :)
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.
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.
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!
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!"
Posts
