Weigh In 06/15/2012‏

Happy Friday!!! Well, I didn't get in 8 miles this week like I'd hoped. :-( But I did do 5.74 miles on the treadmill and this meant that I was on the treadmill FIVE DAYS this week! That's something decently special, especially since I didn't feel well on Wednesday. AND, I did something I swore I would never do... I JOGGED!!! Not a lot. My endurance sucks, but every time I'm on the treadmill, I try to go a little bit further than the last time. I lost 0.3 lbs this week, so I'm back where I was 2 weeks ago. Down 6.6 lbs total. That is fairly disappointing. At this rate, I will not be losing the weight I want to lose by November. But a friend who is becoming very dear to me pointed out that the scale is not the only way to measure success, so this morning I also took body measurements. I did it myself, so I reserve the right to have slightly different measurements next week when I have some help. Patrick has been off work this week, so he was still sleeping this morning and I have no idea how his weigh-in went. I have a sneaking suspicion that he won't do it. Competition is still on (even though he doesn't know it). I found a spreadsheet from when I tried to lose weight in January of this year. It seems I'm always starting a diet! Anyway, in January I was 1.1 lbs less than when I started this journey back in April. So pretty close to the same weight. So I'm using those body measurements and pretending I was exactly the same size in April. (I hope this is making sense). Subtracting today's measurements from those, I have lost 3.34 inches total. Not too shabby for only 6.6 lbs. The cool part is that a whole inch of that was off my waist. Having a waist again is one of my biggest desires! I'm not sure how often I should do the measurements...weekly, biweekly, monthly? Did any of you watch Extreme Makeover: Weightloss Edition? The lady on there weighed 355 lbs. My kids said, "Mom! She looks just like you...except for the face and hair." They are so concerned about me "losing my tummy" so I can wear dresses again. But while the woman's journey was obviously made for television (she actually quit her job to lose weight), her story was inspiring and I highly recommend watching it online if you can find it. I can't remember if it was on that show or if it was something I saw on Pinterest or Facebook, but there is a saying that caught my attention and is something I need to tape to the walls in every room of my house. IF YOU'RE TIRED OF STARTING OVER, STOP GIVING UP. Wow. I cannot begin to count the number of times I've started dieting or exercising and even when I've been successful, I've made excuses at some point why I should stop or why I didn't want to worry about it any more. So I'm hoping that even when I have slow weeks or bad weeks, that I remember to not stop. I want to keep going, because I don't want to start over anymore. My e-mails to you all are still such a huge motivator for me. And your feedback means more than any of you could possibly imagine. Thank you so much!!!

Weigh #8

Well, I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I walked 6.81 miles this week (144 minutes). The bad news is that I gained 0.3lbs. GRRR! So I really need to stay on top of my points tracking. I thought I was just "doing okay", but evidently I was not. So I have some goals for this week: 1. Patrick is starting a weight-loss journey of his own (don't tell him I told you) and I'm a little competitive by nature and I feel like it would look bad if my husband weighs less than I do, so I need to try to lose more weight than he does. 2. I want to walk at least 8 miles total this week (average pace less than 20 mins/mile). 3. Track my points every day 4. Drink more water. My face is puffy, so I feel like I might be retaining a little. So total loss so far: 6.3 lbs.

Weigh In #7

Alright...just finished week seven. I'm down another pound, which hasn't made up for my stupid gain, but my total loss right now is 6.6lbs. My grandparents are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary this November and my mom mentioned that we are all going to have family pictures taken. Those of you who are facebook friends with me know that it is a rare thing indeed for me to allow myself to be photographed. Since I have gained all of this weight (I blame my children), my confidence has shattered. I feel old. I feel ugly. And I'm depressed and moody more often than I'd like. So... I really would like to lose 50lbs in the next 5 months. I'm going to have to bust my rear to do it, but I think it's totally possible. I NEED HELP! I need to keep my motivation and I need reminders of why I'm doing this and I need someone to say, "Hey! Let's go walking!" (even if it's remotely) because I can't afford to hit the gym like I really need to. Anyway, I'm a little bit of a Debbie Downer today. Just tired mostly. There was drama at the ballfields that didn't involve our team so some of the nosier parents (you know I'm included in that group! LOL) stuck around to see what was going to happen. There were six or eight police cars that showed up!!! Anyway, so we didn't get the kids to bed until nearly 11 and there was laundry and stuff to do after that. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Weigh In #6

I type this with my head hung in shame. I didn't track much of anything this week. I wasn't horrible, but I wasn't good, either. I even splurged on a Happy Meal one day. And the cookies...my goodness the cookies...they are finally about out of the office. (They'd been here for three weeks, and I was good the first two of those weeks.) So, you can probably guess that I had a gain this week. +1.6 lbs. UGH. I even feel gross. Bloated, irritable, tired, and lazy. Anyway, thanks to my friend Amanda, I have a plan for this next week. I'm going to stock up on fruit and start eating that for breakfast. Fruit is 0 pts, so it won't use up all of my points that I'll need later in the day. This is hard for me, because when I had gestational diabetes, I wasn't allowed fruit before noon. But that's why I'm doing Weight Watchers. I'm trying to reset myself and push out every other diet I've ever tried, because frankly, most of them contradict each other and my brain can't handle it all anymore. I'm going to try to only eat daily points, and leave the weekly points alone. And I'm going to walk at least two times this week and use my theraband/weights at least four times.

Weigh In #5?

Due to car problems, I totally didn't send an e-mail Friday. I'm sure most of you are okay with that, but I really need to send these because I HAVE to have someone to hold me accountable! This week I was down 1.8lbs!!! For a total loss of 7.2lbs! I'm so excited, because I realllllllllly want to see my first 10lbs gone. I still can't tell a difference in my clothes yet, but I *think* I can see a difference in my face. I might just be getting a tan from the ballgames, too. Fat sure looks better tan! hahaha! Anyway, I wanted to say that I love getting the responses from you guys and I am so excited that several of you are on your own journey to be healthier. It makes me feel not so alone in this.

Weigh In #4

Well, this week sucked. I stayed within my points, but just barely. And the only exercise I got was the zoo trip with Moira's class. Lots of walking, but not at any kind of beneficial pace. Loss this week was 0.1 lbs. A lot harder to not be disappointed. I'm hoping this means that next week will be a great big loss. Total loss is 5.4 lbs. I didn't learn a whole lot this week, except that my scale might need new batteries. I weighed three times this morning. All three times were different weights, but dramatically different from each other (5 lbs different at one point). Still wishing I had a buddy doing this with me.

Weigh In #3

Down 0.8lbs this week! I'm trying really hard not to be too disappointed, because it wasn't a big loss. I did really well staying on-plan this week, but only got one day of walking in. It's been a really stressful week at work and I just haven't wanted to treadmill. So, total loss is 5.3 lbs! I'm not noticing any difference in clothes yet, and I'm waiting for that big NSV (non-scale victory!). Things I've learned this week: 1. When I'm stressed, I want McDonald's Angus burgers, fries, and a milkshake. While I had the willpower to overcome and eat what I was supposed to, I'm still not sure how to get around the desire to eat poorly when I'm freaking out. 2. I need new shoes. Still having some shin/calf pain when I walk, but I am starting to think it might be linked to my arches. 3. Exercise is key for me to lose weight. Wishing I had the time/opportunity/guts to get to a gym for some cardio and weight training. Anyway, thanks for reading!