9 Weeks

4/16: 185 lbs


That is -3 pounds since last week.

I have officially lost 20 lbs since I began in February! I am so happy to finally hit that mark!

My next goal is 178 lbs.  That will take me from "obese" to "overweight".  I'm hoping to reach that in the next 3 weeks.

My energy has been awesome! All weekend I worked outside cleaning, mowing and gardening. Plus I cleaned in our house, heavily! I worked my butt off! And I enjoyed it so much. Our house and yard haven't looked this good in a while. Usually Dad handles the outside by himself, and there is a lot to do out there. I think he appreciated having someone to help him. And I am loving watching the garden. I go check on it everyday. So far we have beans, peas, cabbage, broccoli, corn and squash.

I'm still drinking only water. I'm not even tempted by the Diet Cokes that remain from before I started two months ago. It's so easy to get my 8 glasses when that is all I drink. I try to mix in a glass of skim milk here and there, but it is only occasional.

Diet wise I've been staying near the top of my recommended calorie range. I find it hard to get all the veggies and stuff I need everyday.  Fiber is still a huge problem for me. Even with the supplement I still don't get enough fiber on any given day. So my weight is skewed upward every few days thanks to that...!

I've been doing awesome with my sleep! I've gone to bed before 11 every single night. I guess I've been so active during that day that I just don't have a problem falling asleep at night.

Exercise hasn't been going so good. I've been getting a lot of activity in through cleaning and various things outside, but I still have been meaning to get more strength exercises in. It is just a failure on my part, I can squeeze it in, I just haven't. But I will.

Hopefully next post I will be 183-ish!

5 Weeks

3/19: 192 pounds
That is -2.5 pounds since last week.

I don't have much to say tonight. I just wanted to update with my "official" weigh-in. I'm pretty pleased. I was really hoping to be at least 190 lbs by tonight, but I'll take losing 2.5 pounds.

I'm getting better every day about keeping my calories in check. 1200-1500 is the range SparkPeople.com set for me. I've been aiming for 1200-1400 and I'm staying in that range. It's getting easier every day. Plus I noticed yesterday that I can't eat as much as I used to, even 2 weeks ago, even if I want. I was starving yesterday because I didn't have breakfast. (Overslept.) Then my Dad grilled out and made hamburgers...Yum! I thought I was hungry enough for 2 burgers--nope. I ate one burger and thought I would be sick. So I stopped at one. That's what I'm going to do from now on, even if I feel like I am starving I am going to get half of what I think I can eat.

I'm still exercising often. My brother-in-law loaned me this ab-crunch machine/thing and I've been using that. It feels like it helps me keep from pulling too much on my back. Plus I have been doing back extensions every night and that seems to be helping strengthen my lower back. Lately I've been trying to incorporate more and more physical activity in my life. Over the weekend I went outside and cleaned. It was heavy cleaning too! (Our yard was awful!) And I clean our house every night still, sweeping every room. I've been playing "Just Dance 2" more often.

I feel awesome! My body just feels so much healthier. My self-esteem is already up. I'm staying optimistic and upbeat a lot more. I have not ever been more confident. It's awesome and I don't regret a minute. My only regret is that I didn't do this years ago!

Energy 2 & 1/2 Weeks In

I am 2 and 1/2 weeks into changing my life. My body has not felt this healthy in a very long time, if ever.
My energy is getting better every day and I am finding that sitting around is not working anymore as I have the urge to get up and do something, anything! So I'm exercising daily, cleaning daily (which my parent's must be happy about) and organizing. Cleaned my room out the other day and am thinking about tackling the spare bedroom this weekend. Plus when the weather quits being so stormy for a few days I'm hoping to get outside and work in the yard.

I weigh myself once a day or so, even though some people tell me I shouldn't. It helps to keep me motivated because I want to see the numbers drop. I'm really hoping to drop at least two more pounds in the next week and a half so I can say I have lost 10 pounds in a month. But if I don't that's okay too.

I tried the whole wheat bread. I like it. I knew I would. It has a different taste than white (duh) but I like it. I'm looking forward to putting the chicken or turkey slices I bought on it. I made the mistake of not buying enough protein bars the other day to make it through the week, so I'm bummed to not have one for breakfast in the morning. Cheerios and skim milk will be breakfast I suppose. I had a delicious dinner tonight thanks to my Mom. Skinless grilled lemon-pepper chicken breast, steamed broccoli and carrots, and mashed potatoes & gravy. I only ate around 3 tablespoons of the mashed potatoes though. I LOVE the chicken. Mom is the best at cooking that!

Yesterday my cravings were awful. I wanted something chocolate SO bad. I didn't cave though. I ate a handful of Nilla wafers and that helped. Plus I'm stubborn and want to lose weight very bad so that helped keep me from raiding the stash of snack cakes we keep for my Dad's lunch.

And my awesome sister did cardio with me yesterday. I have a Wii and Just Dance 2 so she and I had some fun and embarrassed ourselves trying to dance. We may not have been very graceful but I know it got my heart rate up! Plus it was a blast!

Soon I'm planning on adding some more pages to this blog including recipes I find that are healthier. Any suggestions on other pages I could add?

Official Two Week Weigh-In

Well I just got off the scale: 2/27 197 lbs

That's down one pound from last week! I'm thrilled. Any weight loss is good to me! I'm pretty pumped now and I'm ready to tackle this week.

I just dug in my closet and found a pair of shoes that are better than the ones I was using (My dog had chewed the soles out of them...). I've got my gym clothes on and I'm ready to go.  I'm planning on doing strength and cardio today. Gonna head outside and walk and maybe try to jog for a minute or two.

Food: I got some new stuff to try yesterday. Bought whole grain bread, chicken and turkey slices and more veggies. I've added a protein bar for breakfast because I can't eat a big breakfast as it makes me sick. I'm excited about the bread. I love bread! I couldn't live without it. I really don't think that there is a type of bread I wouldn't love. I refuse to entirely give up food I adore...so that is where moderation is going to come in to play.

Well I am going to get off the computer and go exercise!

Motivation Running Low

I want to exercise, I have plans to exercise. Have I actually exercised today? No.
I have no excuses. I know I need to and it makes me feel better, but some days getting myself going is the hardest part.
I did do something to benefit my health today. I went and purchased a (cheap) pedometer. I've been walking around our property and I have no idea what the distance is, so I bought a pedometer that not only measures steps but also distance. So we'll see how the pedometer works for me. I'm hoping that seeing that I'm no where near the 10,000 steps recommended will help motivate me to walk a lot more.
I've also been looking into purchasing an elliptical machine, but those suckers are expensive. So now I'm thinking about joining a gym...I just need something for days when it is raining. I need way more cardio than I'm getting now so I have to do something.

Back At It

I have to admit, I have had a hard time the past few days getting motivated to exercise.  Like I said before, getting fit is more important to me than getting skinny so I really have to exercise! I've been recording my stress levels and quality of sleep and I'm amazed at the relationship between the two.  My stress has been pretty high the past few days and I haven't slept well, which makes it hard for me to get going.
Well I did it today. I ate my salad for lunch, ate a few raisins and then got to work. Sparkpeople.com has been awesome about helping me come up with an exercise plan. The main thing about the site that annoys me is that it won't schedule me strength training for two days in a row. Maybe I shouldn't be doing two days in a row but that should be up to me. I found that I can override that rule and pick my own strength exercises, and that's what I do.  I've been doing modified planks, crunches and squats at least a few everyday.  Plus I stretch everyday.  I feel stronger everyday, but I have a long way to go.
Today I was wanting to squeeze in some time walking too.  As I don't have access to a treadmill or a vehicle, I made use of the acre we live on.  (Can't walk down the road; I live in the country, people let their dogs run wild.) I started last week walking twice around the acre and I was hoping to do more today, but I couldn't do it.  Two laps around had my lungs and calves burning.  I may go back out this afternoon and try to squeeze in a couple more laps.
So I am making a pledge to myself to try to walk a little everyday. I know my little Jack Russell Terrier will be glad, he loves walking with me!