Since today is the end of the month, I won't post my weekly weigh in now. Instead, I will cover everything in my monthly update tomorrow.
I'm sure you have all been on pins and needles waiting to hear about my official Cowtown 5K time. :) Well, I mentioned that I was quite sure I beat my last time, but I wasn't sure by how much. Well, the results are in! My time at the Jingle Bell Run 5K in early December was 44:21. It wasn't a particularly challenging course as it was mostly flat. My goal was to beat that time by 30 seconds, so 43:51.
I think I told you in my last post about how much more challenging this course was. It was the hardest I have done (thanks to the hills of Louisville, KY), but the entire first mile was uphill! My gun time (the time from when the gun went off to when I crossed the finish line) was 44:02. So I did indeed beat my last time even by the gun. However, my chip time (the time from when I crossed the start line to when I crossed the finish line) was 42:26! Not only did I meet my goal, I smashed it!! I beat my last time by 1:55 and not on a flat course! My time equates to 13:36 per mile. Since I started around 16 minute miles and I could only run one (less than a year ago!), I'm so proud I just can't even tell you. Here is a pic of Katrina and me at post-race breakfast.
Don't you love the sexy midriff sweat stain?!?! My next 5K is on May 1 which is still 2 months away. I would really like to run it in 42 minutes flat or at least 13:30 pace.
New topic: hair and makeup. I have really started to like my short hair. However, it is HORRIBLE for working out (and trying to go back to work after.) When my hair was longer, I could put it up in the afternoon after a workout, but now it just lays there and drips. Awesome. So I either have to grow it back out or chop it off.
For those of you that remember how devastated I was when I first got my haircut, you may be surprised that I'm leaning toward chopping it off...Natalie Portman style. I think it looks better on skinny mini girls, but I figure I can just do it for the summer, get to my goals by Fall, then start growing it back out to this length for winter. While I will always continue my evening and weekend workouts, I think that when I reach goal, I might not do the ones at lunch. So, the hair won't be as big of an issue. We'll see.
Anyway, my point is this. One of my biggest concerns is looking like a boy. If I'm going to have super short hair, I need to learn to apply makeup. I think it looks so pretty when a girl has a severely short haircut, but beautifully made up eyes. I went to the MAC counter at Nordstrom, stocked up on supplies and had a lesson. It's so funny, because at first, I felt one (very classy) step from a hooker all made up like that. But then I got used to it and I felt kind of sexy. I took a picture to post for you and what cracks me up is that you really can't tell in the picture. I mean you can tell I have on makeup, but it just looks normal. Well, except for a little bit of crazy eye I have going on trying to ensure I don't blink when the camera flashes. :)
Last night I picked up Kat and Thomas and we drove to Ft. Worth to pick up our Cowtown 5K packets. It was a bit of a drive during Friday night rush hour (especially for a 10 year old) so I made up a game and they had to find words on signs that start with each letter of the alphabet in order. Q and Y were tough and I don't think we ever found Z. Ha! I relented on X and they just had to find it somewhere in the word. I'm nice like that.
We came back home and met Cori for dinner at Chili's. In the spirit of having a great, non-cheat weekend, I had a 1/2 rack of ribs with black beans. I only ate 1/2 of the portion, so it was very calorie effective. I totally wanted to go for ice cream after but we refrained. We dropped Thomas back at home and Kat & I headed back to my apartment.
We were up bright and early. Quite possibly the BEST NEWS OF THE WEEKEND, Kat informs me that I do not snore at all. How awesome is that?? I have had sleep issues forever and now it really looks like they are going away. This alone would make the whole band experience AND tonsillectomy worth it.
We made our way to the 5K start and got in line with about 12 minutes to wait. Once it started, we slowly weaved through traffic. I run around 14 minute miles, so I started in the 11+ section. It amazes me how many slower people start closer to the front. I HATE to slow people down so I really try to start back and stay out of the fast folks way. I guess not everyone feels that way. Plus, it bugs me when walkers walk 3 and 4 people across. I'm not fast by any stretch of the imagination, but I like to do my best.
Anyway, the first mile sucked. I think I didn't stretch out well and was all tensed up. At the first mile marker, I told Kat to run ahead. She was having a hard time staying back with me anyway and I wanted her to do her best. At that point, I started loosening up (and the course started going downhill), so I felt so much better. From mile 1 to about mile 2.5, I felt good. That last half mile or so was tough again. I usually run 2-2.5 miles in my workouts so my body was expecting it to be over. Ha!
I could see the finish line and just had no kick left in me. My goal was to finish in 43:51 which was 30 seconds quicker than the last one. I knew I was sucking wind and there was no way. As I approached the finish, I heard a girl tell her friend she was going to finish in under 45 minutes. I glanced at the clock and it said 43:45. I found a turbo in me that I had no idea existed. I saw the clock pass 43:51, so I'm guessing my gun time was around 44:10. But my chip time should be less than that!! I feel like without a doubt, I beat my last time. I just have to get the official time. Monday, I will post pictures and let you know my time! :)
We stopped for breakfast on the way home. I splurged just a little and got a small orange juice and a skillet meal that had ham, onions, mushrooms, potatoes, cheese, & over medium eggs. I ate roughly half of the portion. After breakfast, I got a Starbucks Skinny Vanilla Latte and started catching up on my blog reading.
Last note: I have new upstairs neighbors. When I first moved in, I had a very quiet girl. When she moved out, she was replaced with the loudest family ever. They were up at 5am every morning and up until 2am every night. It was exhausting. When they moved out, I practically threw a party! It has been blissfully quiet for months. A new family moved in last night with at least one child. They are loud walkers and make a lot of noise during the day, but they seemed to wind down by 11pm last night. If they are quiet from 11pm-6am, I will try not to complain about anything else.
Have a super weekend, everyone!!
Hugs!
Tomorrow is the Cowtown 5K and I'm excited! I'm running with my friend's 15 year old daughter. Tonight I'm picking up Kat and her brother Thomas and we are going to go pick up our packets for the race. Then we will join my BFF Cori for dinner after. I'm still committed to my two week food focus (thank goodness since it is only day #2!!) so hopefully I can steer them somewhere I can get something tasty AND healthy. I will make it work.
Speaking of my food focus, today I am having my leftover Olive Garden for lunch. Turns out my crew went to Boston Market, so I could have eaten healthy out, but I'm proud of myself for eating (AND ENJOYING) my leftovers. Baby steps. By the time I leave here today, I will be under 1000 calories for the day. So as long as I don't go crazy for dinner and eat a Blizzard or something, I should be fine.
** Good News Alert ** I spoke with my sleep doctor's office over the phone yesterday and they told me that there is no need for me to come in to the office, because I NO LONGER HAVE A DIAGNOSIS OF SLEEP APNEA! Can I get a "what, what"? I don't even really know what to do. Ha! I'm no longer sleeping on my CPAP. YAY! I have a really hard time falling asleep, but I think as I get used to it, that will fade. I think I snore during REM sleep, but I'm hoping that additional weight loss will help that as well. Now I will say that I believe that the tonsillectomy had as much to do with this as my weight loss and it certainly makes that whole experience worthwhile. I'm very pleased that many of my health woes are fading!!
I think almost all of my followers are familiar with BYOC. But for the few of you that arent...Drazil is a kickass blogger (that you should be following anyway.) :) Every Friday Drazil posts 5 questions for us all to cut and paste to our blogs to share and learn about each other. She calls it Bring Your Own Crazy and I'm down with it!
1. Are you a heavy or light sleeper?
- Interesting question. I seem to sleep through most disasters, so I'm going to say that I'm a heavy sleeper. Although there are some things that are so minor, yet they wake me up. Based on the results of my sleep study, I wonder if I'm a light sleeper during REM, but heavy during deep sleep. It's hard to completely know when you live by yourself.
2. If you were made into a pofessor for a day, what topic would you lecture on?
- Most of my family are educators. Mom, Dad, aunts, uncles, cousins...all in education. So, naturally it was something I thought about in college. But I don't have the patience for it. If I were to be a professor for a day, I think it would be about history. I love history! I'm such a nerd and I love to fill my head with all sorts of interesting things.
3. What's a skill you've always wanted that you don't currently have?
- I wish I could dance. Not just keep a beat type dance, but So You Think You Can Dance type dancing. When I was little and everyone was dreaming of becoming a famous singer, I would fantasize about being a dancer. In my mind, there was this thing called the American Dance Team that would travel and do shows and I was one of the stars. :) I'm not sure that I have ever told anyone about that. HA!
4. Have you ever been in a real cat fight?
- My first elementary school (yeah, you read that right) was on the wrong side of the tracks. My friend Shanna got into an argument with a couple of girls that turned into a "meet at Lester Square Park after school" sort of thing for the whole class. I was delayed but when I got there Shanna had gone and her grandmother had ran off many of the kids. But there we some left and ready to take out their anger on someone and I was her best friend and the next option. I was holding my own against one of the girls and one of the boys, but then an older boy picked me up and threw me on my bicycle. OUCH. I realized at that point I was more of a lover than a fighter and pretty much avoided confrontation that could get physical after that.
5. Repeat question: Summarize your week in real life and in blog land.
- Blogland is super fun for me. I'm excited about going to BOOBs and am just trying to sort out the roommate situation. I've pretty much stopped watching TV because I'm keeping up with all of your fun postings. That's a good thing!
- Real life is good too. After the 5K tomorrow, I'm going to rest up. Then my BFF Cori and I are gong to see a musical that is a spoof of a Golden Girls episode done by guys in drag. That should be interesting! Then on Sunday, we are going with our friend Ben to a much more classic play that his niece is in. Lots of theater this weekend! I'm two days in to my 14 day food focus committment. So far, so good. One day at a time!
Hugs!
If I am going to reach my goal, I need to lower my calories. Period. I'm doing OKAY with food choices, but in order to meet the aggressive goals that I have set, I need to make GOOD to GREAT food choices. Currently, I average 2,500 calories burned per day and 2,000 consumed per day. That should be a good average for 1 pound loss per week.
It is definitely sustainable, but I would like to do a 2 week push to get to Onederland. So, I have come up with a few ideas.
- Breakfast - I typically have a Smoothie King Chocolate Shredder (311 calories) w/ blueberries (40 calories) and coffee with hazelnut cream (50 calories) for a total of 400 calories for breakfast. The Shredder gives me 39g of protein but I've determined that I get PLENTY of protein throughout the day, so there is no real need for a big time protein drink in the morning. However, a shake works well because I'm sometimes tight AND I go to lunch quite early. So, I ordered the low carb slim fast shakes (190 calories, 20g protein). Hopefully I will like them as is, but I can always add some PB2 for 45 calories. With my coffee I will be at 240-285 calories which will save over 100 calories in that one meal.
- AM Snack - Since I eat lunch early, I don't have a need for a morning snack and that should continue.
- Lunch - when I stay in for lunch, I have no problem staying in the 400-500 calorie range for lunch. However, I go out at least a couple of times a week. Since that is some of my only social contact, I don't want to give it up. So, I will commit to working to find 400-500 calorie meals for lunch. My friends are very good about going places where I can make good choices, I just have to ask. *** Interesting note: today, my lunch plans cancelled on me. I was planning to go to Chili's and get the Guiltless Grill salmon with black beans which is under 400 calories for the whole thing (of which I typically eat 2/3.) Deep breath...I am flexible. My new plans took me to Olive Garden. They have a healthy fare menu and I got Minestrone (100 cal) and Chicken Speidini (460 c) depending what looks best when I get there. I ate about 1/2 of both and brought the other half back for dinner. My goal will be to limit my lunch to 500 calories.
- PM Snack - not cookies. Since Girl Scout cookie time, this has been an issue. My snack for the next two weeks will be a granola bar or greek yogurt (or any other filling item I can find for less than 200 calories. And I will only have this snack on days that I work out. Total for the day thus far: 1000 calories.
- Dinner - I would like to limit my dinner calories to 500. Any ideas? I'm sad to say that dinner is often a bowl of popcorn (475 c). Not horrible, but not really the best choice. I also often get 2 tacos from Taco Bell. I think this meal is where I need to focus most. If anybody has some good options, let me know. I need easy and convenient! Oh, and tasty! :)
- Dessert - if I try to have NO treats after dinner, I usually end up doing something stupid, so I will limit myself to 2 ghirardelli chocolate squares (140 c) Total for the day under this scenario: approx. 1635 calories.
Seeing that I'm averaging 2500 calories burned a day, that is over an 850 calorie deficit each day which amounts to a 1.7 pound loss per week. That is the range I was losing for the first 9 months, I just need to get back there. :)
Food has always been my weakness. But I am committing to two weeks of healthy goodness! Achieving little goals will help get me to where I want to be.
Hugs!
First...Read was so kind to tell me that she received my out of office response yesterday. It turns out that since I have my work email linked to my blog, anyone who comments will get my out of office response when it is on. Ha! Oops...guess I need to work on that. Anyway, if you got that and wondered why... :)
I slept without my CPAP machine again last night. I noticed that my throat hurt a little when I woke up. I'm so used to breathing humidified air that I think it is bothering my throat a little. I actually bought a big humidifier that I used when I was recovering from my tonsillectomy, so I might try firing that up tonight to see if it helps. I had a VERY hard time falling asleep. I think it was partly because I'm used to having the machine and partly because I slept so late yesterday after the sleep study. All in all though today, I don't feel any more tired than I have been feeling. In fact, I feel pretty good today...
Which leads me to my next thought. I hit a mini-milestone today! I'm officially the 2nd lowest weight I've been as an adult. It is kind of complicated but at two different times in my adult life, I dieted down to roughly this weight. In 2005/6, I weighed 203 and in 1999, I weighed 197. This morning, I weighed 202.6. (Sidenote: at first, I tried really hard to avoid saying my actual weight. But now I figure, what the hell. I look good for 200+ pounds!) Anyway...yay! 2.7 pounds and I'm in Onederland. 3 pounds from that and I will officially be the smallest I have ever been as an adult.
Since I'm feeling so good today, I set some weight goals. They are kind of aggressive, but I need a push. I really want to be to my goal weight next year. My next goal will be to be at 199.9 by 3/5. That only gives me a little over a week, but I think with a little extra push this weekend I should be able to do it. I'm usually pretty lax on the weekend which is my biggest problem. I'm not saying I will be good EVERY weekend, but I WILL be good this weekend.
I worked out at lunch today. Since I have my 5K on Saturday, I didn't really want to run again today (since I ran yesterday.) So, I decided to walk on the treadmill. I don't like to just walk (or run for that matter) on the treadmill. I have to come up with some sort of "program" to keep my interest. Today, I started with 1 minute at a 1 incline. I would move up 1.0 incline each minute until I got to 15.0. I walked at 15.0 incline for 2 minutes, then worked my way back down again. I ended up doing 2 minutes at a few levels so I walked a total of 35 minutes. It starts off SO easy, but by around incline 12, it starts getting REALLY tough. I have found that it is a REALLY good low impact workout. My shirt was DRENCHED!
I'm meeting a friend at Fuzzy's Tacos for dinner tonight which should be a lot of fun! Even though I want a margarita, I'm going to pass so I can have some chips & queso. :) It's the best!
3 more days until the Cowtown 5K!
Hugs!
Last night was my sleep study. The tech told me that they don't really talk to you about your results, but that they would only come in and put me on a CPAP machine in the night if I was registering over 40 events per hour. If I recall correctly, when I went through the prior two studies, I was in the 80-95 event range. However, they DID NOT come put the machine on me AT ALL throughout the night. I'm quite anxious to meet with the doctor to see what that means.
Did my apnea simply lessen? It was full on treatable apnea before, but now I have less than 40 events per hour...so my sleep is disturbed but it stays untreated? Or is my apnea truly gone? I know that I woke myself up snoring several times, but each time I was on my back. I don't typically sleep on my back but the tech requested that I do so for the study. Maybe when I sleep on my side, I won't snore. I LOVE the thought of not needing my machine anymore, but I'm concerned that I might still snore which would be disturbing for others. For example, I'm staying with 3 other girls in Vegas for the Jazzercise convention and I don't want to be the snorer! My machine is embarrassing, but it doesn't keep people awake. Plus, it took me so long to get used to that thing, now I can hardly fall asleep without it. I will have to retrain myself!
So to summarize: it looks like things are better as far as my health is concerned, but I still need to get the official diagnosis from the doc. I will keep you posted.
NSV: I used to look for any reason not to work out and I'm pleased to continue for that not to be the case anymore. Today, my new car was getting some TLC at the dealership for longer than I anticipated and I realized I was going to miss Jazzercise. So, I went out and ran. I increased my normal home route (1.75 mi) by adding a block and ended up going about 2.25 miles. There are quite a few hills right around my apartment, so it is a decently challenging 2.25 miles too. At work, my outside route is 2.5 miles but a little less hilly. Anyway, I'm pleased with myself. YAY!!
Back to work tomorrow.
Hugs!
It's Monday morning and time for my weekly weigh in! Just like every other Monday morning, my weight spiked 3.6 pounds from my lowest earlier in the week. Isn't that nuts? But I figure that a 2-4 pound spike happens every Monday, so whatever. :) I was down 6 tenths this week, which is less than I want, but as long as it is going in the right direction, I will take it. According to Jax (my Body Bugg), I should have lost another half a pound. Hopefully it will all shake out by next week.
I try not to get to focused on the numbers. My body seems to fluctuate SO MUCH from day to day, so I'm learning to just chillax and do what I'm supposed to do. Sometimes that works. Ha! My clothes are definitely fitting differently. Everything is much looser on me and I can tell my skin is starting to hang some. Don't love the hangy skin, but I do love that it means that I'm losing fat! I just have to keep remembering that it is a marathon!
I'm now in the very smallest range I have been as an adult. My body doesn't know what it is like to be smaller than this, so I just have to continue to be patient!
I know part of the problem is that I'm in a little bit of a funk. I mentioned before that a couple very close to me is having problems with their marriage. Well, that saga continues and as much as I try to tell myself that there is nothing I can do and it is NOT my cross to bear, it still breaks my heart. I want to scream at them to grow up and let go of their selfish pride. But who am I? I'm single and always have been. How do I know that I wouldn't react the exact same way if put in their shoes? Sigh. I just know how hard being single can be too. Not harder than being married...just a different kind of hard. And add to that being a single parent. Ugh.
Okay...I'm letting that go for today. Tonight I'm having a sleep study. I was diagnosed with sleep apnea in 2005 and I've slept on a CPAP every since. After many weight changes and a tonsillectomy, my 5+ year old machine is biting the dust. It will be interesting to see how (if) my diagnosis has changed.
Hugs!
P.S. Oh yeah...I have totally committed to going to BOOBs 2.0. I'm very excited and will start keeping an eye out for cheap flights to Chicago!!
I feel SO MUCH better today!! I just did not realize how much that reflux was beating me down. I have a tendency to ignore pain, but in this instance it just made things worse. I still have a sore on the top of my mouth from the reflux issues two nights ago. Crazy! Sleeping was so much easier last night and so much more restful.
In addition to the physical relief, I'm also relieved that my restriction seems to be in place. I had forgotten what it was like to be in that "zone"! :) I still have to work out, I still have to make good eating choices, but it is just so much easier without the nagging hunger ALL THE TIME! And when you make a bad eating choice, it is easier to move past it and just do better instead of falling apart like I used to do. Total mental relief.
The reason I blogged early today is that I'm so happy to have reached a (one of many I have) milestone. I have only been in this size range twice as an adult. Once around 1999, I was about 6 pounds lighter than I am now. Today I reached the weight I was the other time in 2005/6. I was diagnosed with sleep apnea in 2005 and started using my CPAP machine. I was actually getting good nights' sleeps and had so much energy. I was Jazzercising hard (no other type of exercise, but I was Jazzercising 5-7 hours a week!) And I did Jenny Craig for about 8 weeks, I think. I lost about 35 pounds and got to this weight and just stopped. I had followed Jenny to the letter and it absolutely worked, but I felt so deprived that when I stopped, I practically binged for weeks. It took about a year to gain it all back.
That is why I'm relieved (yet again) to have the Band. I was at a plateau for months and in the past, that would have been the end and I would have started methodically marching right back from which I came. But this time it is different. I'm just getting restarted! It may take me a long time to get to the 100 pound lost mark (which will be my high school graduation weight), but I WILL get there!!!
Today I caught a glimpse of myself out of the corner of my eye in a big mirrored wall at work. I didn't even recognize myself! YAY!!
Hugs!
So, yesterday was a good day. But then night time came... Wow. The acid reflux came on with a vengence. It was HORRIBLE! I know that acid reflux is a huge sign the your band is too tight, but I could eat. In fact, I could eat fine. I had been too tight before and I could barely get down liquids. Even then, I didn't have acid reflux to this extent.
In the wee hours of the morning, you start imagining a lot of horrible things and I knew I needed to go to the doc. I called on my way to work and when they said they could take me soon, I turned right around and headed for Ft. Worth.
When I got there, I discussed my issue with the nurse and she said that I was too tight. She said that it didn't matter that I could eat, I was too tight and I needed a deflate. I convinced her to not go crazy and she only took out two tenths. It was exactly what I needed. My reflux hasn't cropped up today and I'm hoping the night will go well.
I should have gone in a week ago. I should not have been so hardheaded!
First and foremost, dear followers, thank you so much for the push. I'm SO going to BOOBs!! Kerri, I totally think we should be roomies! I'll even bring the Blow Pops. :) I think I have to register my blog or something...but I'm in!
Second, today was just so much better than yesterday. We had a big investor meeting at work and everything went very smoothly. It was the first time I had been involved to this level so I was a bit nervous, but it seems that it was successful. YAY!
The only drawback of the day was the return of the acid reflux. Interestingly, it seems as though it comes on when my stomach is empty. I guess I'm going to have to call the doc. But my restriction seems perfect, so I really want to make sure we discuss before I do anything. I was able to eat a bowl of red beans & rice soup and about 1/4 of my blackened mahi & basmati rice. I have the rest for dinner tomorrow night! I thought it was the "right" LB portion, so I just don't think I'm too tight.
Dinner was FABULOUS! One of my coworkers from out of town was visiting for the meeting, so I took her out to dinner. She is my friend in addition to being my coworker. My boss & her boss went with us. We went to a place called Rise in Dallas which is a souffle place. We started with a cheese plate. I LOVE stinky cheese!! Then I had some Marshmallow soup...which turns out is tomato and carrot bisque with mini goat cheese souffles on top (I didn't eat the souffles because I would have gotten too full). Then I had a crabmeat souffle which was so tasty! The menu said all of the the souffles had 250-425 calories which I thought was great!
As we were leaving, I saw a familiar woman walking toward me and I was trying to place how I knew her. She looked in my eyes and said "hi" and as I returned with a "hi there", I realized it was Laura Bush. Right behind her was W and I said "Hi, how ya' doin'!?" I kid you not. That is what I said. Ha! Whether you are a Bush fan or Bush hater, I think we can all agree that "Hi, how ya' doin'!?" is probably the right greeting for him. Say what you will, but he does seem like a laid back dude. :) He smiled big and touched my arm and said he was doing well. There were several (REALLY CUTE) Secret Service guys. In retrospect, I should have paid more attention to THEM. HAHA! I will always be single. In any case, I'm not a W fan, but it was so fun to run into them. Laura looked lovely and they were absolutely delightful. I will say they were shorter than I would have expected.
Since I have never spoken to a former leader of the free world before, it was quite a big day!
Hugs!
B.O.O.Bs
Many of you that follow my blog are familiar with BOOBs. For those of you that aren't, BOOBs (Band Of Outrageous Babes) is a group of LB bloggers that had their first get together last year and are currently planning their 2nd annual trip for September. I SO want to go!!!
Here's the thing. It makes me nervous. I would probably need a roommate and that makes me even more nervous. I'm not a shy person and I'm not remotely worried about liking my potential roommate. Quite the contrary! I'm suddenly having a bout of my old insecurity and self doubt. Why would anyone like me? Ugh! So crazy, I know. I will get over it.
So fellow bloggers...who is going? Who is thinking about going?
Sad
I've been feeling particularly sad lately. A couple that is very close to me and my family are stuggling in their marriage. It is not my issue to discuss and not my cross to bear. But it still makes me sad. They have kids who I also love so very much. My heart just hurts so much. I just have to keep telling myself that this isn't about me and be there for all of them as they need me.
On the bright side, I'm proud of myself for not continuing to dwell on it. I have my moments where I get very, very sad. I deal with it and then I move on. In the past, I wouldn't be able to do that and I would be sticking my nose where it doesn't belong and getting myself into the middle of something I shouldn't. I would want to know every detail and tell everyone what "I" think about every aspect of the situation. I guess I'm glad I'm growing up a bit.
One good thing about being sad, is that it makes me want to work out. Not really sure why, but it does. I had to cancel dinner tonight with my sorority sis because I had to work late. I still went for a short run (only 1.75 miles, but still decent length for me) when I got home. That is also something I never used to would have done. Silver linings. :)
Hugs!
P.S. I'm still loving the Skitttle!!
Wow, there is A LOT to tell you about today. First and foremost...I have a new car!! I had such a hard time choosing, but then I realized the issue. I wasn't thinking about getting a Mustang because everyone kept telling me to get a Mustang. I was thinking about getting a Mustang, because I felt like I needed some sort of badass car to match my new badass self. HAHA! I realized that I am a fun, funky chick & I wanted a fun, funky car. Plus, I wanted an extra $100 in the kitty for all the new clothes I'm going to want this year!!
This is my new Skittle!!
Tonight is group, so I'm excited to see my friends! I haven't been since November. I had my tonsillectomy 3 days before the December meeting so I missed it and the January meeting was cancelled due to weather. I'm going to go to Jazzercise before so I should be nice & stinky! I'm proud of myself for running at lunch today even though I was going to Jazz tonight. If I could just get myself up in the mornings to do it!
Last, my acid reflux seems to be SOOOO much better. I have been doing 4 things:
- I propped the head of my bed with 2 2X6's. It makes the head of the bed higher than the foot so I'm sleeping at an angle and I will be darned if it doesn't make a difference. I had a doctor suggest this to me pre-band and I laughed it off. I stand corrected!!
- I have been taking a Mucinex about 30 minutes before I go to bed which is supposed to help thin out the mucus. Eww, I know. I'm not really sure how much this is doing, but I will continue for now.
- I have been trying to drink more water. I'm still not where I want to be, but I don't feel as dehydrated as I did.
- I haven't been eating or drinking anything but a bottle of water within 2 hours of going to bed. This is a good habit to get into anyway, but can get challenging because of my schedule.
So I will keep at these things. I lost 8 tenths of a pound this week which doesn't feel like much and I'm a little frustrated. But it is better than gaining which is what I was doing for a little while. Plus, if I lost that every week, I would be to my goal by the end of the year. So there's that! :)
Hugs!
So, I had another bad acid reflux night. I was starting to worry that I was too tight. Things are going SO well! I eat right at my target calories. I'm not feeling hungry all the time. Although I can't eat bread, steak, etc., I only get stuck if I eat too fast or don't chew well. I "feel" like I'm at my sweet spot. However, at night I have this horrible reflux. I don't want to get anything taken out, but continued reflux is not an option. If I just had it one night, I wouldn't worry about it, but it is happening more often. The balance has shifted out of favor... In addition to the reflux, I also have a tight feeling that I mentioned yesterday, that could be hunger...but I'm not really sure.
But now, I'm starting to think that maybe I'm dehydrated. I did a little research and have found that there is some information out there that says dehydration can contribute to reflux, so I'm going to try a few things before I think about getting any kind of unfill. First, I'm goint to MAKE myself drink more water. Pre-band, I would easily drink 100 oz. of water per day. That was WATER...in addition to Diet Coke and other liquids. Post-banding, I barely drink any water. I have a cup of coffee in the morning, tea in the afternoon and tea in the evening.
I made myself drink over 20 oz of water over the last half hour or so and I'm feeling better. I'm going to make myself finish the bottle I'm working on which would give me another 4 oz or so before lunch. After lunch, I'm committing to drinking 32 oz of water before I leave work for the day. Finally, I will drink 16 oz of water about one hour before I go to bed. If any of this is because I'm dehydrated, I should know the answer soon.
Also, pre-band, I had acid reflux and my doctor suggested raising the head of the bed a few inches higher than the foot of the bed. That small bit of added gravity should help things go down as opposed to up, kind of the same theory of people sleeping in a recliner. So, I'm going to Home Depot this weekend and seeing if I can do my own little DIY project. :)
If I do these two things, and I continue to have issues, I will go back to the doc. This is when I wish it were a little easier and more convenient to see my doc. But I will do whatever I need to do.
On a positive note, I fit into a new sweater today. When I bought it, I could barely get it over my body. But it was only about $10 at Ross, so I bought it for a "goal". Today, it is a little snug right around the belly, but it fits! YAY!!
Hugs!
I started feeling guilty yesterday for not working out. So about 8pm, I got up off the couch and danced around my living room for about 20 minutes then did 50 crunches. Heh. My calories in roughly met my calories out yesterday, so that's fine. I woke up this morning and I am 4 tenths from my lowest so I feel like I'm really making progress. At least I'm getting rid of the bloat.
Today, I figured out that it is weird "starting over". For me, the feeling of being truly hungry is very different when I have restriction than when I don't. When restricted, I don't hardly ever feel truly hungry like I think of it. Instead, when my body is feeling like it should be fed I start to feel sick. In fact, I often mistake it for feeling stuck rather than hungry. I have to realize that if I haven't eaten in several hours...I'm probably hungry, not stuck. Ha! Anyway, I had that this morning. I got busy and forgot to drink my smoothie. I started having a lot of pain and realized I was hungry. I had waited so long the liquid drink didn't help and I had to eat a granola bar as well. Good lesson to keep my body satisfied with little bits and not wait so long in between.
For lunch, I had to run an errand, so before I left the office I checked out the menu at Baker Bros. I thought I would pick up a cup of chili. It is ground beef chili so I figured it would have a lot more calories than what I make for myself. The nutritional information showed that it had 545 calories. Not too bad when you consider that it is my entire meal. However, it had 41 grams of fat!! What? That seems insane. So, instead, I'm trying salad for the first time in a long while. It has chicken, black beans, corn, tomatoes, and a little bit of cheese. Instead of dressing I got sides of sour cream and salsa. Even if I eat every bit (which I won't), it will only be 360 calories and less than 15 grams of fat. Now that's what I'm talking about! Tasty too!
Tonight it is back to Jazzercise! Since I only went once last week because of the storm, I'm really going to have to get it in gear if I'm going to make 150 classes this year!
It feels good to be on track again. Still taking it one day at a time! But once I get a few days under my belt it seems a little easier. The real test will be how I do this weekend. :) One. Day. At. A. Time.
Hugs!
So, the DFW area had another snowstorm come through and it is REALLY cold. That is bad enough, but I made it even better. My home heat is set on a timer. It is set on 55 degrees during the day and set to increase before I get home after Jazzercise to 70. Well, Jazzercise was cancelled today, so I came home to a 55 degree apartment. Brrrrrr!!! I have been home for a couple of hours and it still has barely broken 60 in here. Oops!!
Anyway, I had a stellar day yesterday. Dinner last night was DELICIOUS! I had potato gnocchi (1/2 serving) and a 1/2 glass of red wine. Unfortunately, I ended up with some bad reflux and didn't sleep well. That's okay though. I feel much better today. Do you all get reflux on occassion? I was told that meant your band is too tight, but I will just have it for a night here and there but otherwise everything is great.
My food choices today were okay, but since I haven't exercised today, I will probably just break even. I can deal with that. Back to Jazzercise tomorrow!!
Honestly, I'm so cold right now, I can't really focus. So, I will catch up with you all tomorrow!!
Hugs!
Yesterday was a good day all around. I Jazzercised for a full hour, I ate right and ended up with about a 700 calorie deficit for the day, I think. Not bad. I just need to focus on each day by itself.
Today I worked out at lunch. I ran my fastest 2 miles yet at 25:56 and ended up going 2.6 miles total. The best part is that I don't feel like I killed myself, you know? The positive is that I'm definitely getting in better shape. The negative is that I'm not burning as many calories and I have to continue to push myself. I'm running the Cowtown 5K on 2/26 and that is just over 2 weeks away.
My new focus is to take each day by itself. I wouldn't be me if I didn't continue to have plans and make goals, but I want to truly concentrate on each day and make it count. I'm confindent that today will be just as good...at least up until 8pm.
Tonight is my monthly Interesting Dinner night. Since 2004, I have a group of girls that gets together for dinner each month. We take turns picking where to go and we try to go places that none or few of us have been. As I was typing this up, my friend in charge of tonight sent out her restaurant choice. It is an Italian place which is always yummy! Since I'm at a restriction level that limits my portions, I should be okay regardless.
The weather forecast in DFW area is calling for sleet and snow again tomorrow. I'm praying that it is not bad. I really don't want to stay home again!!
Hugs!
I got up this morning ready to face the world and get back on track. YAY!! Then I weighed in for my official Monday morning weigh in and... I was UP 3 POUNDS from yesterday. WHAT?? Now I realize that is absolutely ridiculous and there is no way that I gained 3 pounds in a day. But it certainly annoyed the crap out of me. Whether it is bloating from the Super Bowl party or "right sizing" from my weightloss this week from my fill remains to be seen. Even with this ridiculous change in events, I lost 2 pounds for the week and I will take it.
I am 2 pounds away from my weight when I started my little band vacation a couple of months ago and 3.2 pounds from my lowest. Let's see if I can make that all go away this week! Jax is on my arm, the ice is melted and I'm still ready to get this party started! As a reminder, my two goals for the week:
1. Log all my Body Bugg activity.
2. Work out at least 4 hours during the week.
For those of you that don't know, I'm a Jazzercise class manager and I work on Mondays and Thursdays. Tonight I will be 25% through my workout goal for the week. I'm hoping it stays warm enough tomorrow for me to run outside at lunch, but I'm not sure the weather is going to cooperate. That's okay though, I can still work out downstairs.
We are having a work lunch today. I found out that we are having BBQ and sides which should be perfect especially if there are beans! I have my smoothie ready for breakfast and I hear a taco in future for dinner. :)
Special shout out to Janelle for posting my site on her blog. Thank you! And thank you to you all that have chosen to follow me. It is nice to know that I'm not alone in this!
Hugs!
When I got home from church, I went to change into the clothes I plan to wear to the Super Bowl party tonight. I realized that this weekend last year, I was about a month into my weight loss journey and I had lost enough to fit into my XXL men's Manning jersey. I was quite exited and rightly so.
Today I decided to go ahead and wear something Colts related since it is the end of football season. I was thrilled to be able to wear my Misses XL pink Manning jersey. :) 80 pounds makes quite a difference!
After changing, I ran to Target to get some items for the deviled eggs I'm fixing for the party. You know those cute holiday Tshirts they have in the front? I was never able to wear those until recently. I bought a cute ones for Halloween & Christmas. Today I had to decide if the biggest ones were too big! I bought a Valentines Day one and two St. Patrick's Day ones. I think I have decided that one size goal will be able to never have to buy anything with an "X" in front of it. I don't always have to now, but to never have to would be unbelievable!
Tomorrow is a big day! Jax will be back on the scene and I start working toward my next set of goals. With the ice storm, it seems that all of the other goals I set were promptly forgotten. Ha! So here we go. This week, I will:
1. Utilize Jax to log my calories consumed and burned.
2. Work out for 4 hours throughout the week.
That is doable!! One week. Focusing on small steps toward my bigger goal. My next mini goal is also a BIG goal (Onederland), so I'm looking forward to reaching that one soon!!
Haven't decided on the car yet, but I'm getting closer.
Have a great week everyone. Hugs!
So I did my test driving today and I narrowed it down to two car options.
Option #1 - Fiesta. It is fun, funky, and affordable. Pros: payment will be over $100 less, fun colors (considering yellow, green, blue, & magenta), push button start, more room storage/passenger room. Cons: V4, so doesn't have the pickup that I'm used to and it is more practical (meaning, not as cool.)
What color do you like?
Option #2 - Mustang. I have a much more emotional reaction to the Mustang. Pros: way more fun to drive, more comfortable driver's seat, it is cool. Cons: $100 more per month, less room for cargo or passengers.
I'm looking at blue and grey. This is the closest picture I can find to the trim I'm considering.
I think I'm 60/40% in favor of the Fiesta at the moment because it is trendy and affordable. I mean, I do really like the car...$100 less per month for 3 years is $3,600!! That is a lot of cash. But then I think of the Mustang and I think of how fun and comfortable it was to drive. There was really no comparison in that department. I really don't know what I'm going to do!! That is so unusual for me. :)
On another note, if you followed me on Lap Band Talk, you should remember Jax, my Body Bugg. Monday things finally start getting back to normal after the storm AND I seem to be at a good place with my fill. So, it is time for Jax to come back. Plus, I really have to start training for the Cowtown 5K which is coming up at the end of the month.
Special shoutout to those of you who have followed me from LBT! You all mean a whole lot to me!! :)
Hugs!
I have an appointment to test drive new cars tomorrow with my Ford dealer. Not sure if I will go because of the weather, but I have to make a decision soon regardless. I'm sticking with Ford at this point, but I'm not sure what I want.
I currently have a Ford Escape. Before that, I had another Escape, a Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder, & a Ford Explorer Sport. Since three of my last four cars have been small SUVs, I was thinking of doing something different.
Option #1 - Fiesta. Pros - inexpensive. I can pay for all the bells and whistles available and still have a smaller car payment. I can use that cash toward my 2012 London Olympic fund! I've never been a car person, so I don't really care if it comes with status. Cons - not sure if I will like how it drives. And I'm not even sure what bells and whistles you can get. I sure do love my heated seats. :)
Option #2 - Fusion Sport. Pros - cute enough. Also less expensive and it is definitely different than what I currently have. Cons - kinda boring.
Option #3 - Mustang. Pros - super fun! I've always loved Mustangs. Cons - not very practical.
Option #4 - Edge. Pros - Different. Smooth ride. All the bells & whistles are available. Cons - kind of a soccer mom car which is totally fine for a soccer mom, but I'm not one.
Option #5 - Escape. Pros - I do like them. Cons - same old boring, same old.
My first project will be to test drive them and see how I feel about sitting lower. Plus, the pick up on something like a Fiesta isn't going to be the same and I need to figure out if that is okay. Seeing them in person might make a difference too. Things don't always look the same online. I really like my dealer. She is the entire reason I'm sticking with Ford. She's great!
It is hard to imagine that today is just Friday. Because of the ice, I have sat around this apartment for so many days, that I can't believe I have the weekend to go through. It would be okay if it would just clear up! That is what I'm hoping for. If it really gets up to close to 50 tomorrow, we should be good.
If not, I should clean out my closet. I'm not in a smaller size yet, but it could use some organizing. Plus, I really need to go through my shoes. I have about 75 pairs, but I wear the same 6 all the time and the others just sit there. Time to use them or lose them!
I hope you are all out there staying warm!
Hugs!
We have had such a CRAZY ice storm the last few days. My company was closed two days in a row which is absolutely unprecedented. Theoretically, it is nice to have time off, but was SO tired of sitting at home by myself. There is only so much work I can do from home and I was getting stir crazy.
We finally made our way to work this morning. It was a busy few hours, but then we left to go to the NFL Experience. If you haven't heard of it, it is an interactive exhibition that goes along with the Super Bowl. It was down at the Dallas Convention Center and we had tickets for 3pm.
My friends Cori & Shara went with me. Since I was born a Yankee, I drove on the ice. :) We got there safe, if really cold. When we got in, we started to just walk around and take in the sights. We saw a few current and former NFL players. They had all of the Super Bowl footballs and rings. We each took a "draft day" picture along with a lot of others.
The best thing we did by far was to go through the Verizon exhibit. You registered and were given a QB wrist band. At each of the three areas, you would participate in the event, get a score and scan your wristband. The first was a trivia area which wasn't very exciting. The second area was a football throw where you tried to get it through a few circles. We were all terrible at that!!
The last area, you had to do a 15 second touchdown dance on a stage in front of everyone by yourself. I DID NOT WANT TO DO THAT! From the moment I saw it, I was filled with anxiety of how stupid I was going to look. But I decided that I wasn't going to do that anymore. I was going to have fun. To let you know how nervous I was, the guy asked me who my favorite Colt was and I couldn't think of anyone except Manning and Vinatieri. Crazy! I can name almost the entire lineup! But I was shaking a bit. :)
Anyway, I just danced a little then pointed to the audience and made a "call me" gesture. The judges did get a kick out of it. Anyway, it wasn't great, but I did it and I'm proud of myself. It turned out to be the most fun I had all day!! I'm going to try and post some pictures if I can figure out how to do it.
It was apparent to me that I can do so many things this year that I would not have been able to do last year. Not just because I have lost the weight (that helps too), but because I have gained confidence that I just didn't have before. I love it!!
Last thing...I got a fill on Monday and I'm happy to say that it has really helped me remember what I should be doing. We ordered in pizza today at lunch and it smelled SO GOOD. But I ate my soup and was totally fine with it. One day at a time!
After my Lap Band surgery in January 2010, I started a blog on a website dedicated to LB information. It was so helpful to me and I interacted with some wonderful people. A year has now passed and I decided that while I liked to chronicle my experiences, I was ready to branch out from the LB topic exclusively. Because I'm still 20-60 pounds from my goal, weight loss is still a major focus in my life and will continue to be a big part of my blogs.
I started blogging about LB because it seemed that people who blogged were successful and I wanted to be successful. What I figured out is that there are two reasons that is so. First, feedback is so fantastic! I was able to get feedback from people going through similar experiences. Second, it gives me something to look back at that can give me an accurate representation of what I have gone through.
I'm worried that by changing my blog location that I will lose a lot of the feedback, but I'm going to take the chance anyway. I believe that using this site will allow me to stay more connected to my blog and post other interesting things as I go.
Setting up this blog was time consuming because I chose to copy all of my old entries to this site. As I transferred them, I read every single entry. I had several good laughs. It does seem like I make a new goal every other week, then explain why I don't meet my goal each other week. :) I also learned that when I got burned out (around October), I just checked out. I said the words, but I stopped the actions.
I had a fill a couple of days ago, so I'm on track with my band. I will start back to my exercise routine just as soon as this ice storm is over!!
Whether I have followers or not, I have to remember that this is for me. And whether I meet every goal or make useless new committments everyday...it will help me later to record it all.
Hugs!
Tuesday, January 18, 2010
Yesterday I was very frustrated with myself, but I'm doing much better today. I realize that I have to take this one day at a time, sometimes one meal at a time. I've always known that, but when I get overwhelmed, I forget. :-)
I didn't have a PERFECT day yesterday. I was unable to work out at lunch like I had wanted. But I ate a reasonable lunch at my desk and I went to Jazzercise where I worked out hard. After Jazzercise, my friend reminded me that we were supposed to meet another friend for dinner. Flexibility, where are you?! I was quite proud of myself for going to a yummy Mexican place and ordering a cup of soup. I also had some chips, but I portioned them out and didn't ask for more. At the end of the day, I had a calorie deficit of 400. Not stellar, but if I did that everyday, I would lose a pound every 9 days or so. That would be 40 pounds in a year which is close to my ultimate goal!
Today, I (again) have to be flexible. I won't be able to work out at lunch because I have to go get an allergy shot. I would put it off, but I'm going out of town W-F and wouldn't be able to get it until next week and I'm already overdue. That's okay though. I have committed to myself that I will do a Zumba Wii class when I get home tonight. That will be difficult for me because I have dinner plans (will make good choices!) and then I have to come home and pack. BUT, our dinners always end early. I have no doubt I will be home by 8pm...8:30pm at the latest. It should only take about 30 minutes to pack and I can work out for 30 minutes and I should still have 30-90 minutes to relax before going to bed.
I've been very proud of myself lately for being productive, but the lazy couch potato in me is lamenting not having all my down time. I have got to get used to not needing all that.
Sidenote: Did anybody watch Heavy on A&E last night? I thought it was a great show and I plan to continue watching. For those that haven't heard of it, it is a documentary about people struggling with weightloss. They follow 2 people each episode over the course of 6 months. It is a "real" show and not a competition or full of gimmicks.
Monday, January 17, 2010
I don't feel very motivated today. Until I get my next fill which is two weeks from today, I think I 'm going to be in a frustrating holding pattern. I'm having a very hard time "dieting" which is what I need to do since I'm so hungry. I did an excellent job M-Th last week, then it all fell apart over the weekend.
This is just another bump in the road that I need to get through. It will be extra tough this week because I travel W-F. I will have to really focus on making good choices.
It's intersting that when it comes to exercise, i can make all sorts of good choices, but when it comes to food, I can be so horrible. Baby steps, Beth. Right now I will focus on my exercise AND making sure that I don't sabatoge myself on the food side. In two weeks, I will have more help.
Hope your week is starting better!!
Friday, January 14, 2011
You all may already know about this, but I just found it. There is a website www.healthydiningfinder.com where you can plug in your zip code and it tells you what healthy dining options are near you. It not only gives restaurant ideas, it tells you exactly what to order and what special requests to make, if needed.
I go out to lunch a lot at work. Right now (until my next fill in two weeks), I'm really struggling with hunger. So I want to be able to eat a little more hearty without spending a bunch of calories.
Through this website, I had about 6 restaurant options I could give my friends that would allow me to choose wisely. They chose Red Lobster and I found that I can get a fish option I like with broccoli, salad, & dressing for less than 400 calories.
Sweet!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
One of the issues with a rapidly changing body is that I don't always have the most appropriate outfit for every occassion. Most of my adult life I spent as an 18W. There were a couple of times I got smaller and a couple times bigger, but I would say 80% was spent fitting into that size. So I had EVERYTHING! I had great career clothes...beautiful suits, blouses for every season, business casual to formal businesswear...I was covered. I also had casualwear, activewear, swimwear, underclothes, pajama's...EVERYTHING! I love clothes and I loved to look good even when I didn't feel good about my body.
Now, I'm starting to feel GOOD about my body! I can see muscle tone. My flab is decreasing. I just fit better in my skin. But my 18W wardrobe is long gone. I'm not complaining at all. I would choose to be a regular size 16 rather than 18W any day, but I can't deny that I don't have the options in my closet that I once did. I have purchased clothing as I have dropped pounds, but it is casual to business casual. I limit my purchases to what I can wear to work and what I wear on the weekends.
I have to testify in a hearing in court in Annapolis, MD next week for work. The jeans and blouses that I wear to work daily are not appropriate. I have no desire to buy a suit for a size 16 body when I plan to be a size 12 body the next time I would need one. I could probably get by with a dress and sweater, but I still may go shopping for a blazer this weekend. If I could find an inexpensive black blazer, i could pair is with a dress and could trasform it into more of a suit type look.
Regardless of what I decide, it will be fine. I'm not going to spend $100+ on something I won't wear again and I'm not going to sweat it. Honestly, as sad as it is, I think I would cause less attention being smaller and dressed less businesslike, than being big and dressed to the nines in a perfect suit. (Sidenote: I had a grey suit with blue pinstripes that had a trendy belted jacket and was SO sleek. I never got to wear it. I bought it and promptly gained a bunch of weight. As I was losing the weight, my company had shifted to jeans and a more casual atmosphere. So, I passed it right on by... Sniff.)
Oh well, soon enough I will be at or near goal and I can start stocking up my wardrobe again. This is a small, small price to pay for the joys of obtaining a healthy life and smaller body!!
Hope your week is going well!
Tuesday, January 12, 2011
It has become abundantly clear to me that my fill was not aggressive enough. I was so concerned about being too tight that I ended up not being tight enough. I guess it is better than being too tight, but it is also frustrating. That said, I have almost 3 weeks until my next fill, so I need to suck it up. I may not be able to meet my aggressive goal by then, but I should still be able to lose 2-3 pounds with a regular diet and exercise. Yippee.
It is that "time of the month" (except in my case I only have 4 per year), so I know my hormones are haywire, so I'm trying to be patient. But what is frustrating is that I'm logging all of my Body Bugg results and I have a calorie deficit each day this week, but each day I weigh more. I know, I know...quit weighing every day. As a certified Scale Whore, that isn't going to happen. But I do have to revisit my committment to focusing on my input not what comes out on the scale as output. I'm sure the discrepancy is due to hormones and if I'm patient and continue doing what I should, the scale will reflect that shortly.
In the meantime, I'm going to have to make some extra sacrifices. Since I need more volume to be full, I'm going to have to eat lower calorie items. Additionally, since I need to snack to quell the hunger, I will need to steer clear of my "treats" and snack on healthier, low-cal options.
This is not a big deal, but it is a challenge. Obviously, I am not a tremendously successful dieter or I would not need a Band. But it is a short term issue that will be fixed with another fill. People who aren't Banded don't have that type of comfort or support to look forward to, so I am am fortunate. I have my fitness plan in place, now I just have to implement these few tweaks to my nutrition plan and I am in business.
Have a wonderful day!
Monday, January 11, 2011
Yesterday, I didn't take the time to write my blog entry in the morning and then I never got back to it. That seems to be a thing, so I have to make it a priority. History shows that blogging keeps me on track and I WANT to stay on track and reach my goals!
I have started another of my fitness challenges. They have always been so successful for me in the past so it seems like good timing. I plan to work out 6 times a week for 6 weeks...with at least 1 workout per week dedicated to running. I didn't want to get too specific or too hard core. I wanted it to be doable, but a challenge.
Sunday, I did the free run on the Wii for 20 minutes. Not a huge workout, but it got me moving on an otherwise lazy day. Yesterday, I worked out at lunch doing lunges, 8 minutes on the elliptical, 20 minutes on the treadmill and some strength training. After work, my LB Support Group meeting was cancelled (sad!), so I went to Jazzercise for an hour. So by the end of Monday, I had done 3 of my 6 workout committments!!
Today, I plan to walk on the treadmill at lunch. I have found that hills (inclines) are my weakness, so I'm attacking that. Right now I'm walking at 3 mph, but I hope to increase that over time. Then I vary the incline between 5-15. It is funny how walking at a 15 incline for a few minutes make a 5 incline feel like a breeze!! I have noticed that on my 5Ks, I do all fine until I get to a hill and then I just poop out. My hope is to develop some resistance toward that. Since my knees won't allow me to run every day, I can still work on it with walking.
Have a wonderful day!!
Thursday, January 7, 2010
I have been thinking about rules. I am an accountant and typically a rule follower. I like structure.
When I was Banded, I was told to not drink carbonated beverages, don't drink with meals, take small bites, don't eat bread, etc. I considered them RULES and I followed them with great success! I lost 75 pounds in about 9 months.
But then I started to stretch the rules. I tested some toast or a biscuit and it didn't hurt, so I stopped following that rule. I started sipping more at meals until I was drinking normally again. My bites started growing to whatever my body would allow instead of making them all small. There are many more of these than I'm listing now.
The last three months, I started stretching all of my rules so much that I stopped losing weight at the same rate. I became frustrated at my lack of success. Instead of admitting my weaknesses and making changes, I kept going...stretching the rules even more.
I'm very fortunate that this behavior only stopped my weightloss. But I learned that very easily, old habits come back quickly and old paths can be revisited. I'm glad to have restriction again and I'm back to the basics.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Yesterday was another busy day from start to finish and I was unable to check in. I have to start making that a priority each day to get myself back in the correct frame of mind. 
After work, my friend and I went out for pizza and then went to the musical Young Frankenstein. It was A LOT of fun! When I got home at 11pm, like a crazy person, I finished my book (The Mockingjay, the 3rd book of the Hunger Games). What an amazing trilogy! If you like to read, I highly recommend them.
Today I go for my refill which means a couple of things. First, I can't eat today. After not censoring my food choices for several weeks, this is going to be my first challenge. My tummy is already protesting. After my coffee, I will have my smoothie. It is my first one in a LONG time so I'm looking forward to it. I have some chicken broth for lunch and pudding and applesauce for snacks. I just have to get to 2pm so I can head to the doc. Post fill, I shouldn't be so hungry!
Today's refill also means that it is time to refocus. I spoke about that the other day, but it has really been on my mind. Throughout my life, the holidays have been a time for gluttony and the new year a time for self punishment. This year is quite different. Although I allowed myself leeway during the holidays, I didn't feel gluttonous. And now that it is time to get back on track, I feel invigorated, not guilty or aprehensive.
I have decided that when I reach my next big goal, I am going to reward myself with a running watch. I have made a goal of running a 10K next Spring. That gives me one year to better my 5K and get to the point where I can double it. I'm not a natural runner, so I'm not sure if I will even be able to run a reasonable 10K. But if I don't make the goal and give it a shot, I will never know. I have found that I do fine on a flat course, but hills are killers for me. Yesterday in my lunch workout, I walked at 3mph on the treadmill varying the incline between 5 and 15. It was amazing how easy a 5 incline was after spending a few minutes above 10!
My friend just stopped by as I was typing this and I told her that I feel like I did this time last year EXCEPT I'm so much happier because I'm starting from such a better place. I apologized to her because I told her she is going to get the obsessive me all over again. She is thrilled because she is fascinated by my journey. I guess I am too!
Happy Thursday All!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Hi everyone!! I have taken a month long hiatus so hopefully I can get back into the swing of things.
I think I left off early December with my last 5K. It was such a great feeling to finish my 3rd race. On December 9th, I had a tonsilectomy. Holy cow! That put me out of commission for two full weeks. It will be 4 weeks on Thursday and I'm still not fully recovered. Although I can go about my daily activities, my throat is dry and it is hard to sleep for long periods of time. All in all though, it is over now and I will be glad to have it behind me.
Right before the surgery, I had 2 cc's of fluid removed from my band to avoid any issues during recovery. Considering I didn't eat for two weeks, it didn't cause me too much damage. I will say that In the last week and a half, I have enjoyed some things that I haven't been able to eat in a year. I don't regret it at all!! However, it is time to get back on track and I will have a refill on Thursday.
My first step in getting back on the wagon was to get moving. I started back to Jazzercise last night and it felt great! Today I plan to work out at lunch. Six workouts a week for the next 4 weeks! Actually for the next 8 weeks!
I will catch up more with you all later. I can't wait to sit down tonight and catch up on all your blogs. I sure did miss you all.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Hi everybody! Thanksgiving vacation was SO much fun and in even better news, my weight held steady. My goal was to lose 5 pounds this month and I lost 4. I will take that. :) Especially since I'm "taking a break". I have one more week like this, then I have my partial deflation on Monday. I will have a couple days with the ability to eat anything which I'm not too concerned about. I'm going to try and be good, but I guarantee you I will be having some pizza in there somewhere!! Tonsilectomy is on Thursday, 12/09 and after that, I'm guessing eating will not be an issue for quite a while...
North Carolina was BEAUTIFUL!! I flew into Atlanta on Wednesday evening and drove up to Murphy, NC with my dad. The drive up the mountain was a little scary. It felt like the car was going to flip over backwards!! It was so good to see the family! Thanksgiving day started with a trek down the mountain which was steep so it was tough but highly doable. The walk up was MUCH harder, but I made it! I tried not to be annoyed with my nephews and SIL who RAN up. HA! Just kidding...they are some of my biggest cheerleaders.
We had a bit of fun with dinner because the oven didn't work correctly. It was bad news for the turkey but everything else made it with success. I only cared about the mashed potatoes and noodles because that was all I needed for a yummy Thanksgiving!! Other than a short trip to explore the town, the rest of the day was spent watching the football games.
Friday was quite chilly. We drove to Anna Ruby Falls and hiked up to see the waterfall. It was extremely beautiful. Then we went to Helen, GA for lunch. Helen is modeled after a German town and the downtown buildings all have a distinctly German fascade. We had to sit outside for lunch. Since it was cold, I think it made some people cranky. We walked around for a bit, but decided to leave soon. We headed Babyland General Hospital, home of the Cabbage Patch Kids. I love dolls, so I thought it was a neat little stop. It was a packed day, but we all slept well!!
Saturday, we went hiking around Fires Creek. We had an absolute ball with the kids as they climbed around like mountain goats. In the afternoon we went to the movies. The group split up and I saw Tangled with my brother, nephew and niece. It was cute. Afterward, we went home and played games I had prepared. They were Minute to Win It style games and we had such a blast! My nephew Sam was crowned Family Showdown Champion!
Sunday it was time to leave and I was ready for my own bed. It was a wonderful vacation!! Now I'm back to work to get everything I can possibly accomplish into the next 7 working days!
I will check in before the surgery, but until then...Make every day a great day!!
