Saturday, December 31, 2011

The Day After the Date

Well, I switched my weight in day to today (Saturday) each week, so in 6 days I've lost 10 lbs.  Im pleased with that number.  I'd hoped to lose a couple more pounds yesterday, but since I DID have a date, and we DID go to a fabulous new Italian Restaurant, I'm pleased with no GAIN for the day!

Rather than have a shake this morning, I ate a bagel and cream cheese and some cantaloupe.  Thats 11 Points Plus points. I plan today on having a shake for lunch and eating a little at the New Years Party tonight.  I look forward to cutting loose a little this evening and ringing in a new year full of new possibilities.

I'm really struggling right now with what direction I want my life to take this year. As I may have mentioned before, I was in a car accident in 2010, and have been wanting out of nursing.  So for the last 6 months I've been apprenticing as a dog groomer.  At first I enjoyed it, but now I'm not so sure.  Having finally received my settlement from Workers Comp, I have the choice of dropping a large chunk of it into renovating my garage into a grooming salon, or really evaluating my options and possibly going back to school. I just don't really know what I'd want to go back to school for.  I've thought about psychology to become a therapist.  I'd be good at it and it would surely be easy on my body.  I would love to take some writing courses and try my hand at writing again, but my creative talents are so hit and miss lately.  I used to be able to write constantly, but now I'm having difficulty creating characters.  Maybe I just need to write a little every day. I think my blogs help me acheive that goal without feeling the pressure to write for a given period of time.  And why am I putting all of this on this particular blog? Well, I want to track my relationship with food, and my feelings and stressers are a big part of that.  So I'll frequently be sharing bits of my life here too.

There I go rambling again.  I guess it's time to get back to the task at hand, namely cleaning house so that I can start off the new year in a sparkling environment.  HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!

Friday, December 30, 2011

Day 1, Visalus

After one day on Visalus, I got up this morning and weighed. I was delighted to find that I lost 3 lbs yesterday, though keep in mind I lost 6 in the first 3 days on weight watchers.  I just tend to be one of those people that starts off losing a large amount of weight in the first two weeks, then plateau quickly.  I promised to give this a try for a month to encourage a friend who is having a difficult time. I haven't decided whether I'll continue after that month, but we will see.

So this morning the scale read 288.2 lbs.  That equals a 10 lb weight loss in 5 days!  Thats the way I wanted to start the day.  Hopefully it will end well too. I have my first date in a year and a half this evening.  Keep your fingers crossed that I don't embarrass myself too terribly!

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Giving Visalus a try


Yesterday I stopped to visit with a friend and she told me that she is using the ViSalus shakes. This friend suffers from a myriad of health problems, including fibromyalgia. She says that since she started taking the shakes, she feel so much better, with more energy and less pain.  And of course the weight loss.  

I tend to be a skeptical person.  I believe weightloss only comes with hard work and knowledge of nutrition, which is why I keep going back to weight watchers, but after much encouragement, I decided to go ahead and give it a try. I'll still track everything I eat/drink on my weight watchers log and keep the habit, but I'm going to monitor my loss closely.

Not long ago I attended a ViSalus party to see what it was all about. I have to admit, I'm not too impressed by pyramid marketing schemes. I have no interest in selling the product. I just want to see if what all my friends are saying is true (and no, I wouldn't jump off a bridge if everyone else did lol)  The worst that can happen is I try it for a month and don't like it. If it helps, all the better.  

So this morning I tried my own concoction of orange juice and strawberries with the powder.  By the middle of the glass I was feeling very full. It took everything in me to finish drinking it.  We'll see how it sticks with me through the day.  I'm going to eat something at lunch and try another shake at dinner.  I'll be sure to keep you posted.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Off to a Good Start

Well, it's day #3, and I have been staying within my points plus range of 45 points. The foods I'm eating aren't ideal, but I couldn't bring myself to buy the healthier alternatives of things like bread until I use up what is already in the house.  Of course, with so many points allotted per day, it would be hard to reach my points total if I was cutting points by using the healthier version anyway...

So here I am at day three, and have already lost 6 pounds! I weighed in at 292 this morning!  I don't generally weigh myself every day, but I find when I weigh myself every few days it gives me an idea as to how I'm doing, and if I need to make adjustments. For now, I think I'll just keep doing what I'm doing.

I haven't been getting much exercise in, but I did do my bellydance aerobic dvd Monday.  Today my arms are pretty achy. Yesterday I wore myself out cleaning out the garage and cleaning house. I think it never ends.  Today I'll be at the shop, grooming dogs, so maybe I'll get a workout in when I get home.  No... I WILL work out when I get home.  Someone hold me accountable!  Well, I guess I need to  hold MYSELF accountable.  After all, this is about MY health, right.

Over all, I'm feeling better today, more optimistic and energetic. I'm praying it continues.

Monday, December 26, 2011

A New Beginning



Happy Holidays!

Even though it isn't the first of the year, I've already made my resolution to lose weight (again), so why wait another week.  I have paid for my weight watchers membership, have my workout videos ready, and have started planning my menu for the week.  It will be easier this week since the kids are at their dads.

As would be expected, I suppose I should start with some pictures.  Not that I WANT to share how I look now.  But while we're being honest and real, lets lay it all out there.

I'm 38 (ok, ill be 39 in a week) and 298.2 lbs.  According to my doctors scale I'm a little more, but since I don't see my doctor weekly, we'll count my scale is the accurate one for the sake of tracking.    I haven't always been this big.  In fact, in my younger years, I was an athletic girl.

That short haired girl is me, in a pic on the front page of our small town newspaper, running a 75 yard touchdown during homecoming week festivities my freshman year - 1987


Senior Year -  1990


And after the birth of my first child - 1994


1997


2000


2007


2010 - This is when I truly began hiding behind my children in any picture I found myself in.

And Now:
     


Okay, enough with the pictures.   Sadly, this is an honest representation of me now. I suffer from high blood pressure and severe sleep apnea, my joints hurt more often than not, and since a car accident last year, I have chronic pain in my neck. I know the extra weight is no help.  Notice I haven't mentioned diabetes, heart desease, or any of the other many obesity related diseases.  I plan on losing this weight before I have to add any more to the list.

In the past, I have tried time and again to lose weight, but apparently was never committed enough. There are so many reasons to lose, and only ONE not to. I love food. There I said it. Food is my friend. I celebrate with it, mourn with it, it fills space in lonely days, comforts me when I'm sad, and soothes me when I'm angry.  But it never truly makes me FEEL better, so why do I do it.  This blog will be one tool I use to figure out why I do the things I do, and track my progress to a better me.