Week 8 ~ Weigh In

Let me start by saying, Being sick stinks! I started feeling not quite right last Thursday afternoon but thankfully did not get really sick for several more days.

My husband pulled off a surprise birthday party for me on Saturday which was a complete and total shock. I had been feeling poor all day but thankfully, with some meds, I had a very good time and enjoyed having all the people over to our home. We hadn't had a big get together at our house since we moved in about a year and half before. Probably more because I wasnt feeling well I steered away from the food but did give in to several shots - after all it was MY birthday! :) (and they were shnapps type shots not hard liquor)

Sunday I spent most of the day on the couch. I braved work on Monday and spent the entire day in meetings! I mean from 8am until 4pm then bought meds on the way home and have basically been on the couch or in bed ever since. I've tried hard to stay hydrated but must admit have had little to no appetite and am certain this has something to do with the drastic change on the scale this week. Either Sun or Monday I was hoping to see just .2lbs more come off so I could reach my 20lb loss and today low and behold I was down not just the 2.2lbs I was really really hoping for but I was down 4.0lbs!

The loss this week bring me to 21.8lbs total loss in 8wks. I braved the progress photos this morning also despite feeling yucky. I see the changes mostly in my middle and can't wait to start seeing it in my hips! I'm sure there is plenty of time and pounds left to come off of my hips and I am making all the right choices to make it there as quickly as possible. I have a very long road ahead of me and just can't wait to get to the finish line.

Wk 7 Weigh In

What should I start with this weeks results or all the reasons excuses that may have attributed to my first "slow" week? Well, as I am so good about reminding other people, a loss is a loss. I am thankful that the number went down as opposed to staying the same, or dare I say...went up. I know that in the long run there will be times when the amount lost on any given week will not be exactly what I want it to be and that the focus should be on the big picture: I am losing, I am making changes, I am getting healthier and most importantly, I am still committed to making it to goal!

I know all these things and yet I was still upset to see that the scale was only 0.4lbs less this week than last week. Overall that means that in 7wks I have dropped 17.8lbs and that averages to a very impressive 2.6lbs per week. (yes, Crecia 2.6lb/wk...I think I'm getting worried)

I will continue to track my points, drink my water, and exercise, at minimum, every other day. I must admit that next week I hope the zero and the four will trade places around the decimal. I had hoped that by my 8wk weigh in and progress photos that I would be at 22lbs lost. If I'm not, I won't give up....but I can still hope. :)

Habit Changing Time

A few weeks ago a friend sent me a list of things - kinda like a list of how tos for daily life. Ironically the title was Recipe something or other. The one thing that has stuck with me above the others was this: Eat breakfast like a King, lunch like a Prince & dinner like a college kid who's maxed out all his credit cards.

I really think that turning my points upside down would be in my best interest. I eat oatmeal for breakfast almost daily, a medium sized lunch and low point snacks. As large as I am now I have a wealth of points and this leaves me at the end of each day with more points than I need and far be it for me not to use them up. I don't know that its good to eat higher points foods just to use up the points or eat so much more of good for you lower points foods. I think I will start to concentrate on consuming more of my points early in the day and later conquer the morning workout.

There was a time in my life when I worked 24hr shifts on an ambulance and my shift didn't start until 9am. I was working out more then and on my shift days I woke up, put my hair in a ponytail, brushed my teeth and headed straight for the gym. I showered and got ready for work after my workouts and it was time in my life I remember as feeling the best I ever have. I was full of energy and my spirits were high. I want that feeling back. Even with the changes I have made thus far this year I find myself sluggish and tired more than I think I should be. Perhaps there are more changes I need to be making that are still escaping my radar but I dont know how to make myself think of them or realize them. For that I turn to my fellow weight loss bloggers and other friends in the midst of similiar lifetime changes.

Anyone have any suggestions of increasing energy in a natural way?

Wk 6 - Weigh In

Wow, can't believe the entire week got past me without any additional posts. I have started using the My Fitness Coach for Wii and boy was I shocked at how sore I was after just the preliminary "workout" that simply assessed my fitness (or lack of) level. I used it a couple of times and after giving up on the stationary stepper I got a step that could be used either on its own or with the Fitness Coach. I attempted to do the 30min beginner step class that came with the step but somewhere between how incredibly sore I already was and the fact that I am still so out of shape I was unable to even get through the entire thing.


I also had found out about a website, www.weightview.com, that will take a photo you submit and create your "after" photo based on the weight info you submit. I had tried this a couple of weeks ago and used my 4wk progress photo...the results were scary. I looked like horrible. The website suggests you take the photo at a slight angle and so I decided to try it again. The results are below. I actually thought that my real photo didnt look too bad considering just how much I weigh but that only lasted until I got their version of my after photo. That looks much better! The weightview after is their simulation of a 40lb weightloss. I hope to be 40lbs lighter by end of May.


This week I managed to lose another 2.4lbs which brings me to a total of 17.4 in the six weeks since the beginning of the year. I am very happy with my success thus far and plan on continuing with similar weekly losses for as long as possible. I want to be to goal by my cruise next year. The best part of this past week was that yesterday someone asked me if I had lost weight...that I was looking good. :)

Wk 5 ~ Weigh In

This week I just never got up and moved. I was afraid I might have already begun a backslide but was able to keep up my motivation with the purchases I made on Sunday and will try one of my new DVDs in a little bit.

I haven't yet decided if I think the stepper was worth the investment. It did make my calves feel as if they were on fire with just 5min of use however, after a brief rest I did another 4min...bring back the burn..and the next day I was only a little sore climbing the stairs at work. The next day (today) nothing. I dont know if it was because I didnt do enough time or if it truly doesn't give a good workout. Either way its a little clunky but I will give it another try before I turn it in for a good old fashion step. I always loved step classes and have incorporated some of the movements from those classes into my free step time on the Wii board.

Oh, and, I absolutely don't know how with only good and healthy food choices I was able to lose 3lbs this week but I did and that means that I've lost a total of 15lbs in 5 wks. Pretty incredible and yet right on with where I want to be in order to make the goal I have set for myself for May 31st.

Lastly, I booked a vacation today that will take place the end of February next year so despite the fact that I have set a 10lb every 4 wk short term goal for myself I now also have a good target for my long term goal. I think I'll have to add tickers to my side bar for a countdown to the vacation and perhaps a show of how far I have come and have yet to go if I'm gonna make my mark for May.

Gotta get moving

Perhaps the picture above that shows my Wii Fit telling me my Wii age was 32yrs more than my actual age was a good indication of the fact that somehow I had let almost a week go by without doing even the Wii Fit! I really just hadnt realized it had been so long. It was not out of any intention to dodge exercise.

Today I decided it was time to make some more changes. I went out specifically to get things that would make it harder for me to not work out! I finally got new ear buds for my MP3 player (already loaded more songs on it a few days ago), I got a stationary stepper so I can step in place while watching my DVR shows like the Biggest Loser, I also got a couple of new workout DVDs. I'll withold the names of the DVDs until I've had a chance to try them out and give a review, for whatever my review might mean to anyone.

I have decided that as part of my "insurance" to stay on track that I would allow myself some sort of treat once a week. This has somehow turned into the baking of a weekly diet cola cake.* This past Friday I made a spice cake and had my piece while it was still very warm out of the oven. About an hour or two later I thought it wouldnt be too big of a deal if I had just a little more...but I wasn't able to because the cake was GONE! I mean, completely missing...pan wiped clean by little fingers. Seems my children and husband love the "diet" cakes even more than I do! Now we all know that no matter how much "better" the cake was it wasn't good to devour the entire thing in one evening..but hey, this time it wasn't me who ate it! :)

*for those of you unfamiliar with diet cola cake it is actually very simple, you buy a standard cake mix, any flavor, any kind (I've used reduced sugar ones etc) and when you go to make the cake you add ONLY one 12oz can of a diet cola of your choice. That's it, no water, no oil, no eggs. This bakes a great moist cake that has less fat, calories, & cholesterol than a normal cake. The varieties are endless: white cake w/ sprite zero, chocolate cake w/ diet cola, if you use white or yellow cake w/ a "flavored" soda I dont know how much of that flavor will truly be tasted in the end product but I know others who have done diet Big Red in white cake, or diet root beer. I'm sure you get the picture.