Asara Sheds (the Pounds!)

Tuesday Weigh-In!

2010-08-31T08:45:00.000-05:00

223.6 this morning, and I'm back on track again.

I have hit a small snag though, in the workout area. I have started having pain in my right knee, and I'm not sure what is causing it. It makes YBB very difficult, trying to do plies and even the cardio section has a lot of leaning and bending, and it just hurts too much. I've tried wrapping it and icing it, but that doesn't seem to help. I guess it'll be a doctor visit when things calm down at work a bit more.

In the meantime, I'm still doing my best with smaller portions and Slim Fast, that'll just have to do for now!

Wednesday Weigh-In!

2010-07-14T03:40:00.000-05:00

224!

I was finally true to my word yesterday. I got home and put in the YBB video. I probably over-did a little bit in my enthusiasm, but I managed to do 3/4 of the workout. Then it was dinner time, and after dinner we were watching TV and Billy suggested we go for a walk. So we walked around the neighborhood for about half an hour. I'm a little sore this morning, but it was worth it! I'm planning on exercising again on Thursday, but I'll have to see how I feel. If I'm still too sore from today, I'll do it on Friday. That's the plan, anyway! :)

Tuesday Weigh-In!

2010-07-13T09:03:00.000-05:00

Not much of a change from yesterday, 225.0

Still, exactly halfway to my goal. I think when I started out, I expected I'd be farther along than this by now, but without exercise and simply trying to eat healthier, it doesn't surprise me that it's taking longer than I thought it would. There have been a few pitfalls and stumbling blocks along the way, but I've come a long way!

25 lbs in about 7 months. Phew. Let's see if I can keep this up and be at 50 lbs down by my next birthday, eh? :)

Monday Weigh-In!

2010-07-12T05:34:00.000-05:00

*fanfare*

First morning weight on the new scale... 225.4!!

That puts me at almost halfway to my goal, which is awesome. It took me a bit longer to get here than I thought, but there were several ups and downs along the way that slowed me down a bit. Still, I'm here, and I'm super happy about that!

Sunday Weigh-in!

2010-07-11T21:42:00.002-05:00

What's this?? A post on Sunday??

Yep. Finally bought a scale for the house so I'll be able to get a real and accurate weight EVERY DAY. No more subtracting for boots. So, a bump back for the ticker, I came in at 228.4 after dinner tonight. Will check again in the morning!

Saturday Weigh-In!

2010-07-10T07:09:00.000-05:00

Yep, I am at work on a Saturday, so I thought I'd check how I'm doing on the scales. I stepped on and it said 232. Minus 6 lbs for my new boots and you get...

226!

/cheer

Again, I feel lighter. I just feel good today. Even before I weighed myself I felt more confident, more... me. So here I am re-motivating myself to exercise. We have company for the next week or so, but I'm not going to use that as an excuse. I need to remember how good I used to feel after kickboxing class, and stop worrying about looking silly. There is nothing about exercising to be afraid of!!

Wednesday Weigh-In!

2010-06-30T03:16:00.000-05:00

Greetings everyone :)

So it's been a while... as you may have guessed, the radio silence was due to another gain that I didn't want to own up to. And once I started dealing with that, I got some new boots at work. When I weighed myself with those on, it looked like I had hit another huge gain, and I definitely didn't want to deal with that! I couldn't understand why I was still gaining a lot of weight when I have been on my feet almost constantly for the past week.

This morning I finally had a chance to weigh my new boots, and things started to make sense again. One boot weighs 3 lbs. So I am carrying around 6 lbs that don't belong to me! Once I did the math, it seems that I have at long last returned to 229. Yaaaaay!!

Let's see if I can't get that number to drop again, eh? :) Thanks for sticking with me, you guys!

Monday Weigh-In!

2010-05-10T10:23:00.000-05:00

231 today, damn it.

I knew the 229 wouldn't stick forever. I did eat a lot of stuff I shouldn't have this weekend, with Mother's Day and all that. I'll be back on track again this week though, and I hope to see a return to the double twos soon!

Thursday Weigh-In!

2010-05-06T11:17:00.002-05:00

Holding steady at 229, even after pizza for dinner last night and an "employee appreciation" lunch of burgers and potato salad. *cheer*

Wednesday Weigh-In!

2010-05-05T08:29:00.002-05:00

Still at 229. Happy Happy Joy Joy! *dances*

Tuesday Weigh-In!

2010-05-04T09:36:00.000-05:00

It's a good one, 229 today! :D

I can't even say how happy I am about this.

Monday Weigh-In!

2010-05-03T07:11:00.000-05:00

I've finally hit 230. Wooo hoo! :D

Over the weekend I was putting away some clothes and came across some size 18 jeans. I've been wearing 20's, but they have been a little big for a while, and on Friday they were almost falling down all day. So I thought I'd try them on and see.

They fit!!!

That was such a huge confidence booster, I can't even say how much. They're a little tight yet, but I'll take tight over falling off any day!

Thursday Weigh-in!

2010-04-29T06:57:00.001-05:00

Holding steady at 231 today. Hooooray! :D

Wednesday Weigh-In!

2010-04-28T08:44:00.000-05:00

231 again today!

I am extremely pleased with this. I think I'll be even more happy when that number drops down under 230. Maybe another week or two we'll see that happen, because this weight loss thing has been nothing if not gradual. Still, it's a gradual decline, and that's what counts.

I have been reading along with another blogger who calls herself Temerity Jane. She has been doing a project where she takes a picture of herself in a full-length mirror and posts it on her blog every day, in an effort to "either notice gradual change from my diet & exercise plan or, failing that, learn to like what I’ve got based on continual, unrelenting exposure." I admire her a ton for this, because I in no way have the cajones to post a picture of myself here every day. I am taking consolation in the numbers because I am still not comfortable with the look. From the front, I'm ok, but god forbid I turn sideways. Because then I get why people ask me when I'm due (which happened again last week, hooray).

This moment of self-loathing aside, she mentioned last week that she had downloaded an iPhone app that calculated her ideal weight, and that she had 85 lbs to lose. So of course I got curious, and since I don't have an iPhone, I Googled the idea and found a web site. I am about 5'7 1/2" tall, so I checked for both 5'7" and 5'8". The ideal weight for the shorter is 135, and the taller is 140. So in between there is 137.5 lbs. That's my ideal weight.

And what do I weigh right now again? 231. That's 93.5 lbs to lose to get to my "ideal" weight. 40% of what I weigh right now. Kind of daunting. I weigh almost twice as much as I should. Blech.

However, my first goal weight is much more manageable in my head. I mentioned before that I want to get under 200 before I start worrying about anything else. 31 lbs. One third of the way to my "ideal" weight. And when I get there I can look back at this post and be happy that I made it that far.

For me, right now, it's not about how far I have to go, it's about how far I've come. And I'm pretty proud of that!

Tuesday Weigh-in

2010-04-27T14:15:00.000-05:00

I really need to stop skipping days!

Days, weeks, whatever.

231 today, and yesterday was 232 and Friday was 234 because we had pizza on Thursday night and I made an utter and complete pig of myself. It was delicious though, so...

I regret NOTHING!

Well, maybe a little bit.

Thursday Weigh-in

2010-04-22T14:22:00.000-05:00

Still 232 :)

And it looks like I'm going to be getting some exercise this weekend! I'm going to be walking downtown with my sister in law in the Susan G. Komen Walk for the Cure. Here's hoping for good weather... the weekends have been uniformly cruddy the past few weeks, and I don't want to get rained on!

Monday Weigh-In

2010-04-19T08:41:00.000-05:00

232!

Kind of a surprise, because I feel like all I did on Saturday was eat! We went to the movies and saw two things, so we had lots of popcorn and nachos and candy, and after that we went out to dinner at Olive Garden. Fonduta... tasty!

Saturday... oops!

2010-04-17T07:50:00.000-05:00

I don't even have a number for today, but I'm going to post yesterday's because I just never got around to it.

Yesterday was 232.

Today I'm not going to bother because I'm waterlogged from the work I'm doing today, so I know it wouldn't be accurate. Plus I don't even think the scales are on today. Back to it on Monday though, for sure!

Wednesday Weigh-In

2010-04-14T10:30:00.000-05:00

231! With a wobble to 230, even.

I wish I could say that this came from a positive lifestyle change... I suppose it may have, I finished most of my Atkins shakes, and bought some new Slim Fast. I have to say, whatever they changed in the formula made it taste a LOT better. The chocolate one actually tastes like chocolate without that "This is a diet shake" aftertaste. But I think the culprit is an inadvertent colon cleanse of sorts resulting from a late-night chicken nugget snack.

Oddly, I feel lighter. That's a good thing though, right? :D

Tuesday Weigh-in

2010-04-13T11:35:00.000-05:00

Maintaining 233, with a bit of a wobble to 232.

These posts are a bit easier this week. Like I said yesterday, I was gaining again, and I couldn't muster up the courage to come here and post it. I was dangerously close to going, "Eh, screw it, I don't care any more." But obviously the fact that I was still checking, and I checked again when I got back to work means that I do still care. I just need to keep on my eating habits, and try to work in exercise when I can. I'll get there.

Monday Weigh-In

2010-04-12T06:57:00.002-05:00

233 this morning.

We just got back from vacation, and I did a lot of walking and swimming while I was away from work. I had been backsliding a bit before we left, so I'm very happy to see this number today!

You've GOT to be kidding me.

2010-03-01T15:08:00.000-05:00

232 this morning.

*cheer*

Hubby has been extremely helpful with all of this. We are buying much less in the way of snacks, which has been good for the pocketbook as well as the waistline. We get things specifically for the kids' lunches, and that's it apart from meals. We are continuing with healthier meals as well, and smaller portions (for the most part, I still make an exception for mashed potatoes).

I'm still not exercising, which sort of bothers me, but I can't seem to get motivated enough to actually do anything about it yet. I am confident it will come with time though. For now I am happy about how things are going without it. :)

At long last...

2010-02-24T07:37:00.000-05:00

I weighed myself yesterday and was at 236. I didn't want to say anything until today though, just because I wanted to see if my weight would actually stay there.

It didn't.

Today I weigh 235.

It's a good day.

Change! We have change!

2010-02-12T06:31:00.000-05:00

And it's the wrong kind!

I'm up to 238.

I have not been doing well with my diet. At work still, fine, at home, not so good. We have candy bars that we bought from one of the kids at Andy's school, and I ate a whole one for dessert yesterday. Hubby is still doing well on the healthy dinner front, I've just been snacking on all the wrong stuff. It doesn't help that there are a bunch of things happening right now... our anniversary was Monday, my birthday is tomorrow, and Valentine's Day is on Sunday. We've had cake in the house almost all week, and I'm sure I ate more than my share.

I have a long weekend coming up... maybe I'll exercise.

Wednesday... whoops!

2010-02-03T14:05:00.000-05:00

I'm stuck at 237. The scale wobbled a bit to 236 this morning, but settled down on 237. Yet again.

I did not exercise this weekend. I thought maybe I'd do something during the week, but so far nothing has happened on that front. I know I should, I just can't seem to actually DO it.

Maybe I'm just not ready for that step, but at the same time, my weight hasn't gone anywhere in quite a while now. I'll keep you all posted... but I'm probably not going to post again until I see a change. It's too disheartening to have to keep writing the same number again and again.

F-F-F-Friday!

2010-01-29T09:21:00.000-05:00

Back up to 237, though the scale was wobbling between that and 236. (237 yesterday too, though I didn't get a chance to post it)

Going to dust off my Yoga Booty Ballet DVD tonight, and try to give it a whirl tomorrow. I'll let you guys know on Monday how things came out!

Wednesday Weigh-in

2010-01-27T08:28:00.000-05:00

236! *fist pump*

Some good news on a day when I woke up with a caffeine withdrawal headache. I've stuck to my guns with water and juice, plus a few ibuprofen. So far the headaches haven't been too bad, but I am hoping that today will be my last one. I get very cranky when my head hurts!

I brought cauliflower to work today instead of Wheat Thins. I noticed that a lot of the food I eat is carbs, so I'm trying to cut down on that. I tell you what though, if someone would package fresh pre-cut vegetables, they'd make a killing. I know that stores sell veggie trays, but I have yet to go to the store and see a package of cauliflower. Broccoli, yes, but not cauliflower unless it's frozen. Oh well. I can live with cutting it up myself I suppose. :)

Tuesday Weigh-in

2010-01-26T07:55:00.000-05:00

Blargh. Still 237.

I need to remember that the important thing is that I HAVE lost weight. And I WILL exercise this weekend.

I'm gonna Yoga my Ballet Booty off, yes I am!

Rawr.

Monday Weigh-in!

2010-01-25T07:57:00.000-05:00

Still maintaining 237.

I'm not gaining, but I'm not losing either. The weekends seem to be where I have trouble. At work, it's easy. I don't use the vending machine, and just eat what I've brought with me. But when I'm home for the weekend, it's a lot easier to give in and go get McDonald's. The best I can do is put more veggies on the grocery list, which I did this week. We have no chips or snacks in the house except some broccoli and cauliflower, and stuff for the kids lunches.

Today is my first day at work without pop. I got a bottle of water from the vending machine, and that's what I'm going to drink from here on out. I also need to buckle down with the exercising and actually start doing some. I know what I need to do, but I really don't want to. Time to rustle up some more of that willpower stuff and put it to work, eh?

Thursday Weigh-in!

2010-01-21T08:09:00.000-05:00

Back down to 237, yay!

Stuck to the usual regimen yesterday, with spaghetti and corn for dinner. We both got a little hungry later in the evening, so we each had an apple and a piece of bread with some peanut butter on it. It did the trick, but I was still tempted to go grab some Doritos from the bag that's still on the counter! I didn't though.

I am, however, snacking a bit today. We make liverwurst about once a month, and one of the managers always brings in some crackers, so I've had a few crackers with liverwurst on it. The key is not to overdo, right? :)

Wednesday Weigh-in

2010-01-20T09:54:00.000-05:00

239.

Perhaps the weekend just caught up to me, I'm not sure. It's a little frustrating to be almost back to where I started, but I have to remember that I'm just starting all of this, and the difference between where I was when I started and where I am now is still not that much. Not trying to coddle myself, but just be realistic.

I have to say also that so far I prefer the vanilla Atkins shakes. I still have to try the chocolate, but in the future if it's a choice between vanilla and strawberry, vanilla will win. Also... veggie burgers... we'll give a rating of "interesting". We had them over the weekend. The best comparison I have is that they're egg rolls flattened out into a patty. There were carrot shavings in the patties, which was pretty odd. Not bad, really, but not really in the category of "let's make this a regular menu item" either.

Tuesday Weigh-in!

2010-01-19T10:02:00.000-05:00

237.

I expected a gain. I splurged quite a bit over the weekend, and I am not ashamed to admit it. Emily's party was on Saturday and we had Little Caesar's pizza and cake. Then hubby and I went out to eat on Sunday and I could not resist a New York Strip and a baked potato. It was amazing and I do not regret one bite! The only surprise for me is that it's only one pound. I guess it reinforces the thinking for me that one doughnut will not make or break a diet. It's one doughnut (or more) every day that makes the difference.

I'm back on the wagon today. I had my half-a-bagel and peanut butter for breakfast and brought my vanilla Atkins shake and usual snacks. That bagel half looked so small this morning, it was hard to not just eat a whole one. But here it is almost 10AM and I'm still not hungry. I forgot my pop too, so that's out for today. After I finish the week's two-liter I might swear it off altogether, at least until I have to do more super-long days. We shall see!

Fridaaaaaay!!!

2010-01-15T08:19:00.000-05:00

Still 236! It wasn't a fluke after all, yay!

I am pretty happy with how well this is going so far. I feel so darned good about myself that I actually organized my locker this morning. The top shelf was full of old magazines and stuff that I'd brought to work and forgotten about, even though I look at it two or three times a day. I've been working here for ten years, so you can imagine the clutter. So I pulled everything out and threw away what I didn't need, and put the rest of the stuff back in an organized fashion. There was suddenly room for the scarf I'm working on for Andy to replace the one he left at school before Christmas and hasn't been able to find since.

It was a beautiful thing.

Thursday Weigh-In

2010-01-14T08:19:00.000-05:00

236!

I think that might be a bit of a fluke, I'll be checking it again later this afternoon. I can't believe that I dropped three pounds in one day, especially when Emily wanted Burger King for her birthday dinner, and I got a double cheeseburger and fries for hubby and myself. Not to mention the cupcake! Apart from that though, I was good yesterday. I had my sandwich for breakfast, and my Atkins shake for lunch with my packet of wheat thins.

Maybe this weekend I'll be able to exercise some, I think that would help quite a bit.

Wednesday Weigh-In

2010-01-13T10:21:00.000-05:00

Holding strong at 239!

The jury is still out on the veggie burgers, we had sub sandwiches instead at my son's request, with fries and pasta.

Tonight we have a special dessert, as it's my daughter's birthday and I'm going to be picking up some cupcakes on my way home. I'll try to only have one!

Tuesday Weigh-in!

2010-01-12T08:57:00.000-05:00

Maintaining at 239.

Last night was pork chops, baked with apples and bbq sauce, also steamed broccoli (with a bit of cheese) and mashed potatoes. A scoop of Edy's frozen yogurt (cookies and cream, omgyum) for dessert, and some popcorn just before bed.

I had a very hard time with the mashed potatoes. Luckily the kids wanted seconds, so there weren't really any left for me to have after I ate what was on my plate. I did clean the spoon though! The ice cream was difficult too. That one scoop looked so small in the bowl! Normally I would have given myself three times as much. But a scoop is a serving, so that's what we had.

I had a strawberry Atkins shake yesterday at lunch. It was... ok. I will be able to finish the package, though they're not the best things I ever had either. But I'll take your advice on the vanilla ones when I get to them, Linda! Vanilla extract is a really good idea.

On the menu for dinner tonight is veggie burgers. I've never had one before, so I'm a little worried, but we've got plenty of ketchup if I need it, so I think it will be fine.

Thank you everyone for your supportive comments, you're helping to keep me going!

Monday Weigh-in!

2010-01-11T09:42:00.000-05:00

239, with some wobbles to 238.

And this after a weekend that included pizza and McDonald's and no exercise whatsoever, even though I probably would have had time to do some.

I am still trying to make healthy choices and exercise portion control when I can't. So far it seems to be working, but it takes a lot of willpower! The slow drop of the numbers on the scale is helping quite a bit though.

Yesterday we went grocery shopping. I wanted to get Slim Fast to have for lunch, since breakfast is going to be peanut butter bagels. Imagine my surprise to see that all of the Slim Fast was gone! Apparently it's been voluntarily recalled by the company that makes it. Something about a microorganism that can cause vomiting and diarrhea and stuff. Yikes! And to add further insult to injury, the other available products had no chocolate versions in stock, which is the only flavor I really like. Grrr, they just have to make this even harder, huh? There wasn't much to choose from, but I got some Atkins shakes anyway, in strawberry and vanilla. I haven't had my first one yet, but I hope they're better than the Slim Fast versions of those flavors. And I hope that Slim Fast gets their act together and gets their product back on the shelves!

Finally Friday!

2010-01-08T08:41:00.000-05:00

240 again this morning, huzzah!

I actually got to have lunch yesterday, so I ate my salad. I'm also having peanut butter sandwiches for breakfast, in lieu of a bagel, until we go to the store this weekend. We had homemade chicken tenders and potato skins (which were left in the freezer from New Year's) last night. Usually I make a pig of myself when hubby makes them, but I limited myself to two and a half pieces of chicken and about the same amount of potato skins. It was not easy though, he can do miracles with a pan of hot oil!

Tonight is pork chops, and I am looking forward to that! :)

Thursday Weigh-in

2010-01-07T06:02:00.000-05:00

240. It's probably not a loss that will stick, but it was nice to see the scale go down a bit this morning!

Eating was hit or miss again yesterday. The job I'm covering this week leaves me very little time to even go upstairs for ten minutes and try to eat something. Dinner was good though, baked tilapia with steamed vegetables and rice. Yum!

Wednesday Weigh-in

2010-01-06T06:04:00.001-05:00

241 without the radio again this morning.

I hardly ate anything yesterday, which was completely not on purpose. I didn't get a chance to eat breakfast, and I was kept busy enough at work that I didn't really have time to eat. So when I got home for dinner, I was starving!

I tried to be good though. We had mini subs, and I had two, with ham, a slice of provolone cheese, some lettuce, and a small amount of mayo. Then I had some potato salad and a couple of handfuls of Doritos.

So far today I've had a chocolate chip granola bar. I have some salad with a bit of shredded cheese and some ranch dressing for lunch, and another granola bar and a 100-calorie pack of wheat thins for a snack. I've got a 20 oz of Diet Coke for caffeine purposes, and a 2-liter of Coke Zero to refill it with for the rest of the week.

So far, so good! :) Except for my sense of time, apparently. It's Wednesday, not Tuesday! XD

Tuesday Addendum

2010-01-05T15:58:00.001-05:00

I just hopped back on the scale at work without my walkie-talkie radio thing on. As it turns out, it weighs about two pounds, and without it I'm at 241. So that's where my ticker is going, and I am going to try to stick to checking it every day. I feel that some sort of constant reassurance is the only way I'm going to be able to keep up with what I'm doing. If I stop checking, I'll lose focus, and then before you know it, a few months have gone by and anything I've lost has returned and brought a few friends along for the ride.

I can do this, gosh darnit!!

Morning Weigh-in

2010-01-05T05:54:00.000-05:00

The scale at work today read 243. Yesterday it was actually 245, not 249. I'm debating whether or not to change my ticker, because it would look like I've lost quite a bit, when really I don't feel like I've done anything different. I don't know how much my work scale is affected by things like my radio or my clothes in general, since I often wear multiple layers at different times of day. Ideally I should be weighing myself at home when I get up in the morning, but we don't have a scale since our last one broke. So I'm stuck with work. At least if I use the same scale every day, it should remain consistent to itself, right? Let's hope so.

Last night was my first step toward eating better. I stopped at Burger King to get dinner, but I got myself a salad. It was smaller than the picture on the menu made it look, but I wasn't hungry when I finished it, which is the goal anyway, right? And I got grilled chicken on it instead of fried. Of course, it came with a huge packet of ranch dressing, and I used the whole thing, which I probably shouldn't have done. But I can't nitpick myself too much right now, or I'll get discouraged. I'll just settle with being happy I had salad, and that I ate the whole thing, including the tomatoes, which I would usually not eat. Yay for me!

I have returned!

2010-01-04T09:27:00.000-05:00

It's a new year... did I really stop posting here two years ago? Sigh.

Things have taken a turn for the worse in the weight department in those two years. I'm skirting around 250 now (according to work scales), and that really needs to stop. The name of the game now is portion control. Dinner will be smaller (one serving spoon of dinner and two of veggies and that's it), and I will watch more carefully what I put in my lunch box.

Of course, nothing will work perfectly without a bit of exercise, so I've decided that my weekends will include at least one YBB workout. I still have the DVD's, and there is no excuse for me to not use them. I'd like a Wii Fit, but without a Wii, well, that can't happen. And there's no way we're getting a Wii when we already have so many video game things that we don't use.

So... here we go again. With luck and a bit of stick-to-it-iveness, this time next year will see a much happier and healthier me!

Danger Will Robinson!

2008-03-05T07:08:00.002-05:00

I'm not in a good mood today. I snack like a fiend when I'm in this sort of a mood, and that is NOT going to be good for what I'm trying to do. I hope I can snap myself out of it soon, because I would really be down on myself if I start gaining weight back. :(

Stickin' to it!

2008-03-03T06:51:00.002-05:00

I am doing pretty well on this slim-fast thing. Even yesterday I managed to have one shake for breakfast. Lunch was PBJ, but I just had the one sandwich. It's still difficult to maintain portion sizes, and to resist snacking in between mealtimes. Midmorning is the worst, I tend to run out of things to do work-wise around then, and the draw to just go take a break and have a snack is especially strong.

Random interjection - the guy I work with just got some chemical on his finger or something and he stuck it in his mouth BEFORE he rinsed it off. Stupid.

Anyway, here's another difficulty.. apparently the floor scales where I work.. they suck. I went to the doctor last week for a shoulder problem, and the scale there said I weigh 219. The next morning at work, the floor scale said 228. Now I KNOW I didn't gain 9 pounds overnight, and that's a bit more than I'd give myself credit for due to the weight of my boots, radio, etc. So I want to invest in a scale. The problem is that they don't tend to last long, and also we don't really have a place to put one without having to get it out of the cupboard every time I want to weigh myself. Still, it might be a nice way to track my weight, if I put a piece of paper on the wall and record it every time I weigh myself. I can see a bit better how quickly I'm losing, or even if I'm losing at all, and maybe give me a little more motivation to exercise. We'll see what I can work out. :)

Encouragement!

2008-02-19T08:42:00.003-05:00

I stepped on the scale at work and was surprised to see that I have lost 2 lbs since that first weighing. I have had a few issues with hunger, but I'm doing my best to choose snacks at these times that are still good for me, i.e. yogurt, fruit, etc. Not donuts, candy, the sorts of things that I used to snack on. I have not actually started my exercise yet, hopefully once I do my next post will have a bigger number than 2 in it!

Has it really been that long??

2008-02-12T05:44:00.001-05:00

August was the last time I posted anything here.. sigh. Well, I will have to check my ticker, but I'm pretty sure I've gained some since the last time I posted. I did not keep up well with my ideas at all. When the weather got colder, there was no more walking, I haven't touched my YBB video, about the only thing I've done with some sort of consistency is keep drinking coke zero instead of regular coke.

Anyway, I'm back in business here again, and this time (I REALLY hope) I'll be able to make some progress. My goal is still to get back under 200, but I'll take any sort of baby steps I can get until then. This morning I weighed myself (at work) and came out at 226. I get to take a couple of pounds off of that though thanks to the weight of my radio and steel-toe boots though, so I'm going to say I'm starting out at 224. 24 lbs to lose, and I'm hoping to have it gone by the end of the summer.

To that end, I'm going on Slim Fast. I actually started on that yesterday. I think this is going to be the hardest stretch, because I'm used to eating a lot more than I did yesterday. I had a shake when I left for work, some yogurt at breaktime, another shake around lunchtime, and a little container of applesauce in the afternoon. When dinner time came around, I felt like I was starving! I also had two cans of Coke Zero, one cherry and one vanilla, simply for the caffeine to keep me awake. But I tried very hard not to completely overeat at dinner. Hubby made roast turkey, and I had one piece, and some mashed potatoes with butter. Oh, and a piece of Boston Cream Pie for dessert.

On the exercise front, I plan on doing my YBB workout video when I get home tonight, and also on Thursday. Two days a week to start, and after a few weeks of that, maybe I'll start on Saturdays too.

So that's the plan.. here's hoping I can keep on it this time!

Maintaining..

2007-08-28T11:23:00.000-05:00

Just a quick update.. not much has changed lately. Due to a pretty serious case of poison ivy (don't laugh!), I stopped walking for a couple of weeks. I'm doing my best to get back on track now though, and I'm still continuing to work on my eating habits, to include more healthy foods and less junk (though I still can't resist the occasional trip to McDonald's!)

One of the difficulties with eating healthier though, is that healthy food (even vegetables and such) can get so expensive! If anyone ~~still visits this blog~~ has any tips or suggestions for healthy foods that won't break our budget, please leave a comment! I'd appreciate the help!

Feeling a little better!

2007-07-17T11:02:00.000-05:00

Now that the bloating season is over, I've gotten back on the scale, and I've actually lost two pounds! I'm excited because last week was not the best walking week, I think we only managed three days, between my lack of motivation and overwork, and Sara's herculean effort to get her house ready to go on the market and have people in to look at it and maybe buy it! We're back on track now, and I'm working very hard to get past the "but I don't waaaaannnnnnnaaaaaaaaaaa" and concentrate on my weight loss goals, so that I can keep making progress, and not backslide!!

Boo :(

2007-07-06T06:53:00.000-05:00

I've been doing very well with the walking, and the Coke Zero. My eating habits still need some work, but I've cut out the snacks from the vending machine at least. Unfortunately, I'm not seeing much of an improvement in my weight, so I'm getting a little discouraged. Not that I'm going to quit, but it's a little sad that the scale won't even drop down one number. I'll just have to keep on keepin' on, I guess.. and hopefully things will change in time.

Keep on keepin' on!

2007-06-22T20:42:00.000-05:00

Walking is so far a rousing success. We've managed a walk every day this week, of about the same duration and length. My hubby has joined us on a couple, as has Sara's hubby. The kids have enjoyed the time outside as well. I won't have a weight update until Monday, though, because I have no scale at home. I'm hoping to see a positive change though, because I'm doing my best to continue good eating habits even though I've had the last couple of days off, and the weekend is still ahead. I also spent some extra time outside planting some flowers around our tree. It's not the robust garden I imagined, but it looks nice to have some extra color there!

Last night's walk

2007-06-20T05:26:00.001-05:00

Last night Sara and I walked for about an hour. I know we walked farther than we did yesterday, because we added an extra couple of loops to what we did before. But when we got back, the pedometer only said 4,955 steps! If we walked at the same rate as yesterday, by my count it should have been more like 6,000 steps, but who knows! Tonight is our night off, as Sara has stuff to do with her family, but we'll be back at it on Thursday!

4,946 Baby Steps!

2007-06-18T20:22:00.000-05:00

Sara and I just got back from our first walk. We walked for 45 minutes around my neighborhood, and Sara's pedometer registered 4,946 steps!! The kids both came along in the stroller, so I feel like I got a pretty good workout, I tell you what... *phew!* I'm not sure how many feet or miles that is, I'm hoping Sara will calculate it for me and leave it in the comments.. *hint hint* :) It's a great start, and I hope we'll be able to keep it up!

Baby Step #3

2007-06-14T11:55:00.000-05:00

Walking!

Starting Monday, my sister-in-law and I are going to start taking a walk together every night, and every morning on the weekends. Probably not long ones to start with, but hey, that's why these are baby steps! :)

It's a slow start...but here's Baby Step #2!

2007-06-11T17:39:00.000-05:00

Not a whole lot to report yet. I'm sticking with the Coke Zero, and have actually had several people ask me about it when they see me with it at work. I was under the impression that it had been around for several months, but I could be wrong! :) One of the things I'm planning to do is start using my Yoga Booty Ballet video again. I had gotten burned out on it before, but I think all I really need is just the determination to get through it and get the job done. I was doing three days a week over the winter, but I'm going to commit to just one for now. It's summer, and I'm spending time outside, mowing and watering the lawn and things like that. If I can keep to one day a week for a month, I'll start to bump up the number of days a week.

Baby Step #1

2007-06-07T09:43:00.001-05:00

I have switched to Coke Zero. It doesn't have that weird diet aftertaste, at least not as badly, plus it has 0 carbs and 0 protein, but it's still caffeinated!

Gotta love that :)

Welcome! (sticky)

2007-06-06T04:54:00.000-05:00

I'm starting this blog in the hopes that it will help motivate me to finally start getting rid of the pounds I've added since I had my son back in 2003. I'm going to start participating in the Tales from the Scales challenge, in order to keep myself accountable.

The ticker I put in my header shows my overall goal. Right now I'm going to work on getting under 200, or about halfway to my overall goal. I think it will be a huge boost to my ego to get on the scale and not see a 2 up there!

Here's hoping that this will be a diary of progress, not disappointment!

Kicking the Can

2007-06-05T06:37:00.000-05:00

I know that pop is one of the banes of the weight-loss world. I see it all the time, that it's empty calories, and whatnot... I want to drink less of it, I really really do. I think right now I'm drinking 3-4 cans a day. I justify it because I'm working really long hours right now, and not getting nearly enough sleep, so I need the caffeine to stay awake. I could use some advice on balance, if anyone has some.

Here is my schedule and eating habits as they are now.

Monday morning my alarm goes off at 6 AM. I get up, get dressed, toast a bagel, and I'm out the door at 6:30.
Get to work at 7, either buy a Coke from the pop machine, or grab one of the 2 I brought with me in my lunch, depending on if there was any in the fridge at home.
Break at 9:30, eat the majority of what's in the lunch I brought, or get some chips or pretzels, maybe even a candy bar out of the vending machine, if I didn't take the time to make a lunch before I left the house. If I'm still feeling alert, I drink water.
Lunch at 12:30, drink the 2nd pop if I still have it, otherwise I have water, and the rest of what's in my lunch bag, or I'm back at the vending machine. Usually I eat a lot less at lunch, and a lot more at break time in the morning.
I usually don't take a break in the afternoon, but even when I do, I am usually still full from lunch, so there's no afternoon snack.
I get out of work anywhere between 3PM and 7PM, depending on how production went for the day. By the time I get home, I am usually starving.
Somewhere between when I get home and when I go to bed is dinner. If there's pop in the fridge, I drink that again, otherwise it's milk or juice, usually not water.

I have 2 kids, and my work schedule really doesn't give me a lot of time to spend with them. Or my husband, or myself, for that matter. So I end up staying up later than I should every day. I have found that the minimum amount of sleep that I need if I'm going to be anything resembling a decent human being in the morning is 6 hours. So, since the alarm goes off at 6, I try to make sure I'm in bed by 12. It doesn't always work, but I try.

I want to drink less pop. However, I really don't like coffee, I tried really hard to start drinking that instead, but when I do, I have to put so much sugar in it, I might as well be drinking pop anyway.

Any advice would be more than welcome as to how I can balance this out. I know my food choices are also something that needs work. I eat a lot of fast food, fried food, bread, all the things I know I'm not supposed to eat. I need to learn how to shut off the little voice in my head that's saying "But it tastes so yummy! Surely one little cheeseburger couldn't hurt THAT much, could it??"