The 200 mark is looming in sight! The closer I get to it, the more impatient I become!
For the holiday get together at my parents house, I wore my size "20" jeans from Target. I say "20" because they are the same width as some 18's I have bought, but they fight a lot tighter. I was proud to finally be able to zip them and wear them, but they were uncomfortable really fast. I just bought some a pair of 18's and 16's from Old Navy yesterday while on a shopping spree with my niece and the 18's fit perfectly! It was a very strange feeling to enjoy clothes shopping, though it ended quickly as we went into more stores and the large variance in sizes started showing up. I'm still proud of the new clothes I bought and can wear, but it would be nice if all of the store sizes were universal.
I did really well at both of our holiday parties this last weekend, though I went way over on sodium both days and I think that skewed my weigh-in a bit. I am so sick of sodium I could scream. I know if the scale reads higher due to excess water from too much salt that it's just going to come off, but I hate messing up a weekly weigh-in because of it. I also got through packaging up all of the truffles and cookies for people without sampling more than a truffle (and considering how heavenly they are, that's impressive!)
For my own future reference, here is a list of everything I made this year:
Chocolate chocolate-chunk muffins
No bake cookies
Oatmeal peanut butter chocolate chunk cookies
Mint chocolate chip cookies
Double chocolate cookies
Peanut butter blossoms
Cherry chocolate blossoms
Chocolate mint blossoms
Chocolate thumbprint cookies
Peanut butter cup cookies
Coconut macaroons
Oatmeal scotchies
Classic shortbread cookies
Rolo pretzel bites
Peanut butter M&M pretzel bites
Hockey pucks (Ritz cookies)
Peppermint bark
Oreo truffles
Mint oreo truffles
Peanut butter pretzel truffles
Coconut truffles (Mounds)
Butterfinger truffles
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Sunday, December 18, 2011
207.4 - 82.4 pounds to go!
Completely forgot to post my weigh-in with all the hustle and bustle for the upcoming holiday. I normally post while at work, but with the looming winter close down, everyone is feeling lazy and chatty. At this point, we've made it through most of our holiday parties and have managed to lose weight after all of them, which is wonderful! Now to just finish my baking frenzy and get through packaging all the goodies without sampling too many!
Monday, December 12, 2011
209.8 - 84.8 pounds to go!
I'd love to say I'm officially out of the 210's, but next weigh-in is the one that I know will go up a pound, so I don't want to get too excited just yet. But, I could not have been any more happy that the scale moved for yesterday's weigh-in, especially since this last weekend was my in-law's holiday get-together. We were really bad on our sodium all week, especially while out of town, and Friday was basically a grazing day with all the holiday food, so I was kind of expecting the worst. I also ate quite a few cookies on two different nights last week. For as many as I was baking, I could have done a lot worse I guess. I was doing really, really well in the beginning but I think I was hungry both times I sampled a few too many. And now I have a bunch of cookies for me thanks to the cookie swap and gifts from the in-laws. Thankfully they are all frozen, so I can eat them very sparingly over the next few months!
Our trip to see the husband's family went really well and several people commented about how good we look, which is so nice to hear when you feel like there is no difference. I know the scale is moving, so I am sure there are changes, but it's hard to tell. But, I went to Kohl's while we were visiting and I bought two new pairs of pants in a size 18! I was pleasantly shocked since the pair of 20's from Target still barely fit. When I compared the two, the 18's are actually about an inch smaller. Go figure. Either way, I'm looking forward to watching them become loose!
Last week I saw my doctor to get a yearly review of how things have been going. She didn't really do a review unfortunately, and according to their scale, I had only lost 1 more pound since seeing her in November. According to my info, I lost 4, but either way it left much to be desired. I mentioned to her that I gained like I always do around the middle of the month and then gained again 2 weeks later but her response was less than stellar: "now that you've lost a bit, you'll probably slow down to 1-2 pounds per month." In my opinion, that just doesn't seem right: 35 pounds down with 85 to go and I'm going to slow down?! Not if I can help it! I can see if I only had 30 to go, but not 85!
I have three more holiday parties to get through, one of which is mine and the other might not have much food, so I'm in the home stretch! Here's hoping I can get back to losing 2 pounds a week!
Our trip to see the husband's family went really well and several people commented about how good we look, which is so nice to hear when you feel like there is no difference. I know the scale is moving, so I am sure there are changes, but it's hard to tell. But, I went to Kohl's while we were visiting and I bought two new pairs of pants in a size 18! I was pleasantly shocked since the pair of 20's from Target still barely fit. When I compared the two, the 18's are actually about an inch smaller. Go figure. Either way, I'm looking forward to watching them become loose!
Last week I saw my doctor to get a yearly review of how things have been going. She didn't really do a review unfortunately, and according to their scale, I had only lost 1 more pound since seeing her in November. According to my info, I lost 4, but either way it left much to be desired. I mentioned to her that I gained like I always do around the middle of the month and then gained again 2 weeks later but her response was less than stellar: "now that you've lost a bit, you'll probably slow down to 1-2 pounds per month." In my opinion, that just doesn't seem right: 35 pounds down with 85 to go and I'm going to slow down?! Not if I can help it! I can see if I only had 30 to go, but not 85!
I have three more holiday parties to get through, one of which is mine and the other might not have much food, so I'm in the home stretch! Here's hoping I can get back to losing 2 pounds a week!
Monday, December 5, 2011
212.4 - 87.4 pounds to go!
These last few weigh-ins have been really frustrating. The husband also gained about half a pound this week, so maybe it's increased muscle from the balance class we took early Friday? I really have no idea how long it takes for muscle to build. It's just odd that he and I gain and lose together (minus the ~1 pound gain I have everything month) which leads me to believe it's not overeating. We both eat different things for the most part, and we both vary everyday on whether or not we are over or under by a little bit. So the only reason I can come up with for weeks like this is sodium, muscle gain, or gremlins. Whatever it is though, I'd like it to go away! I had high hopes of hitting 200 on New Year's Day and I think after hovering around 212-213 for 3 weeks, it's pretty much not going to happen.
As I mentioned above, we did a sample balance class on Friday morning. We were the only two in the class, which may have been a good thing. It was a mix of things like squats and should-tap pushups with Bosu ball exercises. I'm still pretty sore even today in the upper chest and lower abs, but it's nothing compared to the last class we tried! I'm really hoping they schedule this class a little later than the sample (8 am!) so that we can take it every week! If the scale is going to be mean and not move, I at least want to tone up some more.
Yesterday was also measurements and photo day. I finally noticed some differences in my photos. One of the rolls on my back (god, that's awful to type) is smoothing out and my upper arms don't look like cottage cheese anymore. I also take a picture wearing a pair of size 20 jeans from Target and an XL shirt and I noticed the gap between the button and clasp is slowly getting smaller! I was able to get them on one day last week by laying down on the bed and they didn't feel too bad once I stood up, but I figured I would wait until I can properly button and zip them. Compared to a couple months ago, I've only got about an inch to go!
Here are the measurements from 8/21/11 and 12/4/11:
Neck: 16" / 14.5"
Bicep: 15" / 14.25"
Chest: 49" / 46.5"
Waist: 49" / 46.25"
Hips: 50" / 47.75"
Thigh: 26" / 23.25
Calf: 17.25" / 16.75
That's a total of 13" since August 21 and 4" more than the last measurement tally!
As I mentioned above, we did a sample balance class on Friday morning. We were the only two in the class, which may have been a good thing. It was a mix of things like squats and should-tap pushups with Bosu ball exercises. I'm still pretty sore even today in the upper chest and lower abs, but it's nothing compared to the last class we tried! I'm really hoping they schedule this class a little later than the sample (8 am!) so that we can take it every week! If the scale is going to be mean and not move, I at least want to tone up some more.
Yesterday was also measurements and photo day. I finally noticed some differences in my photos. One of the rolls on my back (god, that's awful to type) is smoothing out and my upper arms don't look like cottage cheese anymore. I also take a picture wearing a pair of size 20 jeans from Target and an XL shirt and I noticed the gap between the button and clasp is slowly getting smaller! I was able to get them on one day last week by laying down on the bed and they didn't feel too bad once I stood up, but I figured I would wait until I can properly button and zip them. Compared to a couple months ago, I've only got about an inch to go!
Here are the measurements from 8/21/11 and 12/4/11:
Neck: 16" / 14.5"
Bicep: 15" / 14.25"
Chest: 49" / 46.5"
Waist: 49" / 46.25"
Hips: 50" / 47.75"
Thigh: 26" / 23.25
Calf: 17.25" / 16.75
That's a total of 13" since August 21 and 4" more than the last measurement tally!
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Another Post On How My Journey Began
Today I've realized I'm really glad I'm on this journey and that it's been so easy for me thus far because things could have turned out much differently.
Over the summer, probably around June or July, the husband and I were taking a walk. It was a cool night (the only reason I wanted to go) but by the end of the .74 miles we were hot and exhausted. During the walk, I revealed that I was sick of being overweight. It's not something we talked about much in our household growing up, and that carried over into my own household. I criticized our lifestyles and scoffed at our inability to walk less than a mile without hurting and becoming so winded. And I mentioned having serious considerations about lap-band surgery. I had recently watched a friend go through it and as hard as it was for her the first few weeks, it was nothing compared to my mom's ordeal. It was something that would keep my mouth from eating too much or I would suffer the consequences. Husband decided he was on board with it also and told me to call our doctor's office and schedule an appointment to get the ball rolling. Something that was just an idea rolling around in my head had suddenly become very real. So I spent hours researching it, scaring myself to death. Did I really want to survive on a liquid diet for several weeks? To cause myself to be ill if I ate too much? I've never had surgery and I have a huge fear of dying (so huge I've had panic attacks.) That risk really worried me. Was I really okay with putting my life in someone's hands just to be thin? They also wanted to know what types of things were done beforehand in an effort to lose weight. I had done nothing! And then there it was: they wanted adherence to a diet before surgery that would result in weight loss. I can't find now where I was looking, and it may have only been 10 pounds or so, but I remember thinking "if I have to diet to lose weight before the surgery, why have the surgery?"
I vaguely remember my mom going in for Roux en-Y gastric bypass surgery (it's been at least 15 years). But more vividly, I recall her not being able to go upstairs, her inability to eat more than a couple tablespoons without being sick, the restrictive diet that she's since gotten around. After all that struggle, all those times she'd sit miserably, clutching her stomach, telling us how she ate too fast or ate too much or even ate the wrong thing, she's gained it all back. Sure, she might be down a little bit from her starting weight but she has a bunch of loose skin now so it's hard to tell. And on my journey, I've just come to realize how little they taught her about proper nutrition, portion control, and exercise. Even though she ate barely anything in the beginning, her stomach pouch eventually expanded and with it, her appetite. I remember her getting up in the middle of the night because she was hungry, grabbing snack cakes by the handful and taking them back upstairs with her. Nothing about that surgery made her re-evaluate how she ate or lived. She didn't stop buying junk food or take walks or join the local community center. Nothing set her up for continued success. The weight was coming off regardless of what she did or didn't do, so there was no need to change for the long-term.
When I logged into MyFitnessPal this morning and noticed one of my friends posting about how excited she was to be back down to her pre-Thanksgiving weight, everything sort of hit me. I realized I should be hugely thankful to weigh less than I did on Thanksgiving. It was the holiday weekend and I lost 2.6 pounds. I didn't have to worry about eating and making myself sick (something my mother still does on holidays), or eating the wrong foods, or not chewing enough.
So today I am thankful for my journey. I've learned to eat properly, to take care of myself, and to listen to my body for signs of hunger or satiation. Even on days when a weigh-in doesn't go as planned, or I feel like eating something that will set me over on calories for the day, I never feel like giving up. I'm thankful I have much more self-determination than I ever gave myself credit for.
Over the summer, probably around June or July, the husband and I were taking a walk. It was a cool night (the only reason I wanted to go) but by the end of the .74 miles we were hot and exhausted. During the walk, I revealed that I was sick of being overweight. It's not something we talked about much in our household growing up, and that carried over into my own household. I criticized our lifestyles and scoffed at our inability to walk less than a mile without hurting and becoming so winded. And I mentioned having serious considerations about lap-band surgery. I had recently watched a friend go through it and as hard as it was for her the first few weeks, it was nothing compared to my mom's ordeal. It was something that would keep my mouth from eating too much or I would suffer the consequences. Husband decided he was on board with it also and told me to call our doctor's office and schedule an appointment to get the ball rolling. Something that was just an idea rolling around in my head had suddenly become very real. So I spent hours researching it, scaring myself to death. Did I really want to survive on a liquid diet for several weeks? To cause myself to be ill if I ate too much? I've never had surgery and I have a huge fear of dying (so huge I've had panic attacks.) That risk really worried me. Was I really okay with putting my life in someone's hands just to be thin? They also wanted to know what types of things were done beforehand in an effort to lose weight. I had done nothing! And then there it was: they wanted adherence to a diet before surgery that would result in weight loss. I can't find now where I was looking, and it may have only been 10 pounds or so, but I remember thinking "if I have to diet to lose weight before the surgery, why have the surgery?"
I vaguely remember my mom going in for Roux en-Y gastric bypass surgery (it's been at least 15 years). But more vividly, I recall her not being able to go upstairs, her inability to eat more than a couple tablespoons without being sick, the restrictive diet that she's since gotten around. After all that struggle, all those times she'd sit miserably, clutching her stomach, telling us how she ate too fast or ate too much or even ate the wrong thing, she's gained it all back. Sure, she might be down a little bit from her starting weight but she has a bunch of loose skin now so it's hard to tell. And on my journey, I've just come to realize how little they taught her about proper nutrition, portion control, and exercise. Even though she ate barely anything in the beginning, her stomach pouch eventually expanded and with it, her appetite. I remember her getting up in the middle of the night because she was hungry, grabbing snack cakes by the handful and taking them back upstairs with her. Nothing about that surgery made her re-evaluate how she ate or lived. She didn't stop buying junk food or take walks or join the local community center. Nothing set her up for continued success. The weight was coming off regardless of what she did or didn't do, so there was no need to change for the long-term.
When I logged into MyFitnessPal this morning and noticed one of my friends posting about how excited she was to be back down to her pre-Thanksgiving weight, everything sort of hit me. I realized I should be hugely thankful to weigh less than I did on Thanksgiving. It was the holiday weekend and I lost 2.6 pounds. I didn't have to worry about eating and making myself sick (something my mother still does on holidays), or eating the wrong foods, or not chewing enough.
So today I am thankful for my journey. I've learned to eat properly, to take care of myself, and to listen to my body for signs of hunger or satiation. Even on days when a weigh-in doesn't go as planned, or I feel like eating something that will set me over on calories for the day, I never feel like giving up. I'm thankful I have much more self-determination than I ever gave myself credit for.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
212.0 - 87.0 pounds to go
I'm a bit disappointed in today's weigh-in. Being as last week was a gain, I figured this week would follow the usual trend of being a really good weigh-in. I'm glad it was a loss, I just feel like I lost a week. My only hope is that I am retaining water from all the sodium in the pizza we ate last night at a birthday party. It's a stretch, but I'm hoping. I meet with my doctor again in just over a week to go over how much I've lost this year and my goal was to hit the 35 pound mark, so I think I need to step it up.
Thanksgiving went okay but I still overate. Halfway through I noticed I was comfortably full, but still kept stuffing my face. I didn't stuff myself silly but I went beyond what I should have. The day before I was under on calories by about 500, so I figured I was safe with the 500 calories I went over on Thanksgiving. Now to get through the in-law's Thanksgiving/Xmas party in 2 weeks.
On the plus side, we went shopping on Black Friday and I decided to attempt to meet the nutritionist's goal early (of buying a new pair of black pants.) I've been terrified of trying on pants for fear that the size would only go down by one. I ended up taking in a size 20 and a 22, figuring the 20's would be tight like the ones I have from Target. Amazingly, they fit! I didn't even try on the 22's because the others fit well enough it seemed silly. I didn't buy them since they were so long, but it was a great feeling!
Thanksgiving went okay but I still overate. Halfway through I noticed I was comfortably full, but still kept stuffing my face. I didn't stuff myself silly but I went beyond what I should have. The day before I was under on calories by about 500, so I figured I was safe with the 500 calories I went over on Thanksgiving. Now to get through the in-law's Thanksgiving/Xmas party in 2 weeks.
On the plus side, we went shopping on Black Friday and I decided to attempt to meet the nutritionist's goal early (of buying a new pair of black pants.) I've been terrified of trying on pants for fear that the size would only go down by one. I ended up taking in a size 20 and a 22, figuring the 20's would be tight like the ones I have from Target. Amazingly, they fit! I didn't even try on the 22's because the others fit well enough it seemed silly. I didn't buy them since they were so long, but it was a great feeling!
Monday, November 21, 2011
214.6 - 89.6 pounds to go
I can't even begin to explain how angry I was at yesterday's weigh-in. We had so much sodium throughout the week and I am normally on top of things come the weekend. I know to watch the salt 2-3 days before weigh-in, but no, we still went over. The most aggravating part to accept is that it was my monthly weigh-in day. Any other week if the scale went up almost a pound, I'd suck it up and look forward to the next weigh-in. This time I was excited though. This time I just needed to lose .8 pounds to hit the 213 mark and be on track.
I was partly tempted to wait to record my weight until today or tomorrow, knowing the salt killed the weigh-in, but I decided to not play around with the rules. Today I jumped on the scale though, as I do almost every day, and I was at 213.2. So, either I only lost .4 pounds, or I am still retaining water (and being as Saturday I went over, and last night was close, I am betting the latter.)
I was partly tempted to wait to record my weight until today or tomorrow, knowing the salt killed the weigh-in, but I decided to not play around with the rules. Today I jumped on the scale though, as I do almost every day, and I was at 213.2. So, either I only lost .4 pounds, or I am still retaining water (and being as Saturday I went over, and last night was close, I am betting the latter.)
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