Tuesday, January 31, 2006

That's My Story And I Am Sticking To It!



We all get heavier as we get older because there's alot more information in our heads. So it's not that I am getting fatter, I've just accumulated alot of knowledge, and my head couldn't hold anymore so it started filling up the rest of me!
That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Sunday, January 29, 2006

Hard Headed Woman

Hi All! I am not really ignoring you! I know it seems like it, life just has a way of getting in the way sometimes. That's my excuse and I am sticking to it!

Guess I should update you on my progress. I have been doing pretty well foodwise! Well, since I gave myself "permission" to eat two cookies at church. (Hey, they have 'soft' cookies and you know how I love them!) I found if I don't beat myself up about those cookies then it doesn't give me the ok, to say "Oh guess I will just eat what I want today as I had cookies already." That was always my downfall. I would feel like I cheated so I could convince myself to go off for the next meal and then pretty soon it was for the day and then the week-end, and the week, and you know how that goes...pretty soon there is another 30 lbs. on my hips and behind and I am trying to figure out how to get motivated for ANOTHER diet. So I am thrilled that I am not dieting! I can get rid of the guilt trip and just keep pluggin away.

I lost 6 lbs. last week and then on Wednesday (weigh day) I was down another 3 lbs. I am sure it will slow down now to a pound or two a week, if I am lucky. I started some actual physical activity this week too so it might even show a gain. On the 4th I will be doing measurements and will let you know what my total inches lost are.

Right now I am concentrating on keeping my blood sugar level on an even keel. This is no easy task! This is the first time I have monitored it so consistantly so it's proving to be very enlightening. So, needless to say, staying away from white flour and sugar goes a long way to making my diabetes happy, as well as the weight loss from that endeavor helps with my other health issues.

I am so thankful for my dear son-in-law. He brought my treadmill in for me and got it all set up for me. This was on Tuesday, and I have walked for 5 minutes everyday since. I know this may not seem like much to most of you that are reading this, but trust me, for me it is a big deal! I have been sedentary for so long, because of physical limitations and partially from just being a slug!

You would think with my family history I would be scared into being fit and healthy! My poor father had a major heart attack followed by a quadruple bypass. After this he was walking everyday and being careful. Then he went back to his sedentary ways and had another major heart attack. This one was also followed by a quadruple bypass, only it had serious complications. The doctor cut through his aorta when performing the surgery which caused him to have a major stroke on the table and he came out of it in a coma. Daddy came out of the coma after three weeks and began his rehabilitation. Unfortunately, he had a careless therapist that tried to move him and pulled his sholder out of the socket. Well, Daddy pretty much gave up on therapy after that and to make a long story short, he spent the next 17 years trapped in a hospital bed in his living room. And if that was not enough to do it, my sister has had 3 stints put in! You would think I would learn, and not be so Hard Headed! I have every reason to eat healthy and get lots of exercise...One would think this would be enough incentive.

I can not really say I am committed, but I am getting there. I am starting to get a little bit of energy here and there, and that feels good! It is good to have my daughter trying to get healthy at the same time. We can try to motivate each other. Lord knows, we have corrupted each other with Nacho Saturday and ice cream and a spoon, and of course, our love for liquid sugar (Mountain Dew). So we could really use any suggestions any of you might have on how to get and stay committed to eating healthy and staying active (you notice I really have a problem with the "E" word E-X-E-R-C-I-S-E!) Let us know your tips for sticking with it! We need all the help we can get. And we could use some good recipes for some tasty low carb healthy meals. Can't wait to hear from you all!

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Jus dustin the crumbs off...

Just got home from work, and thought I would check out the blog and update it as yesterday was our one week! Well, I brought some cookies home for hubby, the original cookie monster. They were soft, and I love soft cookies, and I swear they were calling my name. I ate two of them on my way home and as I finished the second one and was just wiping the crumbs from upon my face, our blog pops up in front of me and I read my daughter's entry. Do I ever feel guilty! Don't know why I gave in, but remember they were calling to me. Here my daughter resisted her breakfast weenie fav's and I caved! Well, this is a lifestyle change and not a diet, right? Ok I can do it...
I did lose 4 pounds this week, which was good! I have not been able to start walking on the treadmill yet, hubby still hasn't brought it in yet! Grrrrrr! I asked him two weeks ago. But on his behalf, he has been working killer hours and I sit home all day except when I help at the church. Ok, he's a good guy! Maybe this weekend...or maybe I will just drag it in myself! Somehow! Then there is the son-in-law! He would do it if I asked! But I hate to ask him. Wonder how many pounds you can lose dragging in one of those things? They are huge! Hmmmmm! Wonder if it would balance the cookies...

The secret is out

I now know why my butt is huge. Those little Jimmie Dean sausage biscuits. I love those things and would eat them all the time for breakfast. 3, sometimes 4 of them. In my defense, they are really small. Well, today I went to make them for my little ones and I was dying with envy. That is until I took a moment to look at the fine print on the box. For two sandwiches it is 390 calories and 29 grams of fat. I would usualy eat twice that, along with a slice of velvetta on it and some ketchup. So we are looking at a 800 calorie/60 grams of fat breakfast. Just breakfast. No wonder my jeans are tight.

I have also learned in the short time that I have paying attention to this stuff, that it is kinda like being trained for a new job. You have to learn the ropes. I have not had a Mountain Dew this year! I finally got a scale. Not new so I am not sure if it work correctly. I would love to think it is broken, given the number it says I weigh, but I put the kids on. It is in the ballpark. I never weighed in when the new year started, but when I got on it earlier this week, it said 234 pounds. My jaw dropped because I although I knew I had gained, I thought I was still around 220. Yesterday it said 230, as well as this morning. Yuk.

This has all left me depressed. I am not sure if it is the lack of sugar or what, but I am totally depressed the last two weeks. I am going to perk myself up tomorrow by purchasing some tanning session and getting my hair cut and colored. Maybe if I start working on the WHOLE new me, instead just the weight loss, I will feel better. Gonna go paint my toe nails now...

Monday, January 09, 2006

Just call me Betty Spaghetti

...because that is what my legs feel like right now!

Today is the day I set to start some sort of exercise regimen. I climbed on my exercise bike this morning , with a goal to ride 15 minutes. Afterall, I have not been on the bike in a year. I managed my 15 minutes biking 6 miles. Not a bad start. My heart rate was up and although I didn't "sweat", I could feel the burn in the legs. I eventually want to work up to 30, even 60 minutes a day of exercise.

Food-wise, I am doing well. I have gone nine days without a Mountain Dew. This is good considering I was totally addicted to the stuff. I have only missed it a couple times and when I do, I just drink a diet snapple lemonade. Not the same, but drastic times require drastic measures. I went to a fast-food resturant yesterday and did well. I had to call mom and ask her what I could have. I did sneak a french fry or two off my daughters plate and they tasted gross. Which made me happy. They were not my favorites (Mc Donalds fries) so that probably made it easier.

One of my biggest concerns now is just having enought money to continue eating well. It is such an additional cost to eat "healthy". Why is that?

Well, all for now. Going to go try to walk on these spaghetti legs, lol.

Saturday, January 07, 2006

Goals and Stuff...

Hey, I was gonna post how I was doin’ since we started but it dawned on me that I had not really told you what I was gonna do or what my goals are, so here is the untold truths! (There are reasons they are untold!) Well, here goes...We started on Jan. 4th and my starting weight was 250. Our next weigh in is the 11th. I know the scale is not always my best bud so I also did my measurements. I will keep you informed of the progress there also. I am not on a diet per say, and I don’t want to be. I want to eat healthy foods for my body and particular health issues. I am trying to stay away from white flour and sugar. Also I want to make sure I get lots of fresh veggies and fruit. I am not going to cut carbs completely. I don’t believe that is healthy at all. I eat good carbs, such as brown rice, whole wheat pasta or a small potatoe. I used to eat cheerios in the morning but am finding that my diabetes is much happier without it. I have to be careful with the whole wheat english muffins. They do well for me combined with something else, but I tend to like them too much and they are very quick and easy to fix. So far I have been real good with my foods and I am trying to keep my portion size down also. I fail here sometimes. Ooooops! It’s a journey I am on. And I will fail. But not all the time! I had kind of a hard time this time getting all my water. Man, I felt like I was floating and only had 4-8oz. glasses. The next day it was 6-8oz glasses and then finally up to 8-8oz. glasses. Today my natural thirst has come back-yeah! I was actually craving water! I never have been able to exercise much but hope to make that commitment next week. I got a treadmill from my mom and whenever my dear hubby can get it in from the garage and set up, I hope to start walking a little at a time. I have bad knees and a prolapsed disc so I need to start very slow! I have a tendancy to over-do and then I am down for awhile. I used to take water aerobics, loved these and they didn’t bother me, but the pool closed and there is no others close by unless I want to go to the next state. Well, the 100 pound countdown is on. So check back and celebrate with us as the first pounds come off! Can’t promise we will always celebrate, but you can cry with us too! See ya at the weigh-in!

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

So Here We Are...

Ok, so here we are, standing on the threshold of a new life. Oh, no pressure or anything! Is this gonna be the time when we make it? Are we actually going to get down to a healthy weight? Do I even know what that looks like? Not really, see I have been overweight since the onset of puberty. In high school I was overweight (according to the doctors) but I would give my first born (sorry honey) to be there again. And that is precisely the weight my doctor would like to see me at now. Go figure! I beat myself up for years for being 150 pounds and now they decide that’s what I should weigh. Too late Doc, you missed your chance! But realistically, that is my eventual goal. Did I actually speak that out loud? Oh no, now it is down in black and white for everyone to remind me of. Talk about accountability! Whose idea was this blog anyway? Guess I better give you a little background on my health issues since my daughter brought them up and I know you are all curious. First, I have type ll diabetes. I am not insulin dependant. I am on meds and they are controlling it. And my healthy eating will soon keep it under control as well. I also have psuedo-tumor cerebri., or PTC for those of you who have heard of this strange thing. Basically what it boils down to is my body produces too much cerebral fluid and spinal fluid and it builds up pressure in the brain and tries to come out anywhere it can. For me that was my left eye. It caused my optical nerve to bleed and if I hadn’t finally decided something was definitely wrong and went to the eye doctor, who sent me to a nuerologist, I would have been blind very shortly. Of course before they finally figured out what it was, they thought that I had a brain tumor. I was put on medication 3x a day. Finally after a little over a year, I was in remission! Now my goal is just to lose weight and eliminate the possibility of a re-accorance. I also have fibromyalgia. I know by now you are thinking, is there anything this chick doesn’t have? Well, there is more but we won’t go there. The bottom line is losing weight and exercising will help everything. So here I sit, still recovering from bronchitis and a sinus infection, wanting to start walking etc. but I truly feel like curling up with my quilt and long-hair doxie. Guess who wins out. Maybe tomorrow! Happy Casey Dog!

Let's get this party started

This blog is a team effort for myself and my mom and our journey to lose weight. We decided that we were unhappy with our current weight and did what everyone does this time of year-made a New Year's resolution to change our bad habits and take off the weight.

Today is the day to start those changes and I admit that my heart is not in it today. I was up all night with my daughter and didn't get much sleep. Then this morning, I pulled a muscle in my back. My day has been spent laying flat on my back, doing nothing but watching television. My goals today were to weigh and measure my lumps, and jump on my exercise bike. But instead I have been dreaming of salt and vinager chips. Not a good start. I have resisted the temptation, by remembering that it is boredom that makes me want to snack and not hunger. Thats a good start, right?

We will include in our sidebar as time goes on, our measurements every month to document inches lost. Our weight and progress will be there as well. This is our place to write how we feel and help motivate each other and others. It is a huge undertaking but one that will reap so many benefits.

The side effects from being overweight are felt throughout our whole bodies. I just want energy and the strength to keep up with my kids and to be able to face the world. No more of my childrens friends innocently asking if I am having a baby. No more trying to find clothes that hide this or that. Just comfort with me. Mom has many health problems associated to her weight and I am sure she will share them.

And that is where we begin. We have accepted our fat and are ready to take control. A life where we will control our bodies and not our bodies controling us. One year to change a habit and begin anew.

In the next fews days, I am going to share my weight and my goals. Yep the whole blogasphere is going to know just how much I weigh. Something noone else, including myself know. Should be interesting. Ok, let's do this...