Current Weight (as of Saturday, March 27, 2010): 174.6 Pounds
Total Weight Loss To-Date: 32.4 Pounds
Sheesh...I hope I'm not yet another rollercoaster. I've had a few weeks of success and am on top of the world, and then I get on the scale on Saturday, and boom, there's one of the pounds I've lost!
I sort of expected this gain as I think I'm, as they say, "full of IT". I just didn't think I was quite so full of IT (live and learn). I'm back on my exercise routine (2 excercise classes per week and walking every night), so it can't be that I'm not moving enough. I'm also wondering if I'm having side-effects from the new medication my doctor's prescribed for my high blood pressure. After my WW meeting on Saturday, I went about my normal shopping routine, which includes a stop in at Walmart. I decided it might be a good idea to see if the meds were working on lower my BP. Good thing I was sitting down - my BP had shot up to an alarming 191/86 - it's never ever been that high. I told Rob about it, and he dismissed it as a very unreliable reading and made nothing of it. Frankly, I'm petrified that I could have a stroke in my office and be one of those who isn't discovered too late and not until much later in the night by cleaning staff. I'll try it again this weekend at my local drug store and see if the reading at Walmart was even close to being accurate.
I'm also having a problem with "sample" tasting. As I'm cooking, I'm tasting to make sure my food is edible. So, I need to stop doing that and pray that I'm not feeding Rob bland food.
Lastly, just this morning, I heard on the news that 90% of those of us who are or have lost weight will not or ever keep it off. Pretty discouraging considering all the effort many of us make. However, I'm one of those who's determined to prove the "experts" wrong. Again, I may not lose the weight overnight, but I didn't put it on overnight either - so I'll persevere until I reach my goal - even if it kills me!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
This Week...Same as the Last...Sort Of
Current Weight (as of Saturday, March 20, 2010): 173.6 Pounds
Total Weight Loss To-Date: 33.4 Pounds
Another week, and I've lost another 1.8 pounds - yay me!
This is pretty exciting and I'm hoping that I'm getting past that infamous plateau. The fact that I'm closing in on a 40 pound loss is amazing and the most amount of weight I've EVER lost. I know that I've been at this for 40 weeks, but I have to keep reminding myself that I didn't put 75 pounds on my body in 40 weeks - it's more like 30 YEARS. So, if it takes me more than a year to take it off, so be it.
This week, however, I'm facing some emotional challenges that have me making questionable choices. I got quite the double-whammy from Rob. He came home on Monday to tell me that as of mid-June, he will be laid off his job at the warehouse due to technological upgrading - others in the warehouse are also affected. He appears to be okay with this, but I know differently. He has self-esteem issues and they will surface again as June approaches. So, for me, this results in unbelievable worry - and that leads me to the fridge where there's chocolate and other goodies not so good for me. The other whammy came in the form of declined credit. Rob's car insurance was summarily cancelled as he has a somewhat unsteady payment history. Let me explain by going back to the beginning of the story...
Several years ago, he was working for a courier company that does not provide their own vehicles (or anything else for that matter). So, Rob had to use his own vehicle to make deliveries in the downtown core. In our town, the police are quite vigilant about cars parked where they're not supposed to be and ticket accordingly. Well, he accumulated numerous tickets over a very short period of time (none of which were paid for by his employer). Anyone who drives knows that the insurance industry doesn't care what type of infraction was committed, all offenders are punished equally. Rob quit this job because it came to the point where he was making no money and constantly getting tickets he had to pay for (not to mention to toll the abuse was taking on our car!). Rob went from job to job over the next while and making marginal money. Things got so bad, we had to sell our home, and we were left with nothing because we amassed huge debt. We moved into a modest apartment (almost didn't get that because of bad credit) and Rob got a new used car (the old one died). We're managing the car payments quite well, but the monthly insurance on it is outrageous - more than the monthly car payments! This because of the mountain of tickets Rob got while doing his previous job. The insurer figures Rob's a bad risk and really shouldn't drive, nevermind have insurance. Bear in mind that before this, he had a very clean record, now it's awful and he pays $450/month to drive. Well, this cost is absolutely prohibitive and Rob had trouble paying, so the insurer cancelled his policy. He's been searching for an insurer to take him, and found one. The problem is that they want $3,300 for six months of coverage up front!!!! We simply haven't got that money! So, Rob went to a financial institution to apply for a loan and was denied (actually we both were) because of a matter that is on our credit report and won't come off for a long time yet. So, it looks like we're stuck without insurance and the inability to drive around town. Again, an added stress to me...I know I'll be attempting a fridge raid again tonight when I go home. Chocolates - hide now!!! Wafers - hide now!!!! Ice cream - move to the back of the freezer and hide!!!!
Total Weight Loss To-Date: 33.4 Pounds
Another week, and I've lost another 1.8 pounds - yay me!
This is pretty exciting and I'm hoping that I'm getting past that infamous plateau. The fact that I'm closing in on a 40 pound loss is amazing and the most amount of weight I've EVER lost. I know that I've been at this for 40 weeks, but I have to keep reminding myself that I didn't put 75 pounds on my body in 40 weeks - it's more like 30 YEARS. So, if it takes me more than a year to take it off, so be it.
This week, however, I'm facing some emotional challenges that have me making questionable choices. I got quite the double-whammy from Rob. He came home on Monday to tell me that as of mid-June, he will be laid off his job at the warehouse due to technological upgrading - others in the warehouse are also affected. He appears to be okay with this, but I know differently. He has self-esteem issues and they will surface again as June approaches. So, for me, this results in unbelievable worry - and that leads me to the fridge where there's chocolate and other goodies not so good for me. The other whammy came in the form of declined credit. Rob's car insurance was summarily cancelled as he has a somewhat unsteady payment history. Let me explain by going back to the beginning of the story...
Several years ago, he was working for a courier company that does not provide their own vehicles (or anything else for that matter). So, Rob had to use his own vehicle to make deliveries in the downtown core. In our town, the police are quite vigilant about cars parked where they're not supposed to be and ticket accordingly. Well, he accumulated numerous tickets over a very short period of time (none of which were paid for by his employer). Anyone who drives knows that the insurance industry doesn't care what type of infraction was committed, all offenders are punished equally. Rob quit this job because it came to the point where he was making no money and constantly getting tickets he had to pay for (not to mention to toll the abuse was taking on our car!). Rob went from job to job over the next while and making marginal money. Things got so bad, we had to sell our home, and we were left with nothing because we amassed huge debt. We moved into a modest apartment (almost didn't get that because of bad credit) and Rob got a new used car (the old one died). We're managing the car payments quite well, but the monthly insurance on it is outrageous - more than the monthly car payments! This because of the mountain of tickets Rob got while doing his previous job. The insurer figures Rob's a bad risk and really shouldn't drive, nevermind have insurance. Bear in mind that before this, he had a very clean record, now it's awful and he pays $450/month to drive. Well, this cost is absolutely prohibitive and Rob had trouble paying, so the insurer cancelled his policy. He's been searching for an insurer to take him, and found one. The problem is that they want $3,300 for six months of coverage up front!!!! We simply haven't got that money! So, Rob went to a financial institution to apply for a loan and was denied (actually we both were) because of a matter that is on our credit report and won't come off for a long time yet. So, it looks like we're stuck without insurance and the inability to drive around town. Again, an added stress to me...I know I'll be attempting a fridge raid again tonight when I go home. Chocolates - hide now!!! Wafers - hide now!!!! Ice cream - move to the back of the freezer and hide!!!!
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Current Weight (as of Saturday, March 13, 2010): 175.4 Pounds
Total Weight Loss To-Date: 31.6 Pounds
Another week, and I'm down 1.8 pounds - so, in all, I'm a very happy camper. Last week I was up 1.2 pounds and now I've lost it plus.
With the weather really warming up this week, and the sun shining, there's no excuse to ramp up my activity level. So, in addition to working out twice a week, I'm back to walking home from the subway in the evening. Here's to keeping my fingers crossed that the addition to my routine will result in another week with a nice weight loss.
I really need this weight loss because last week, I went to my GP, and my blood pressure is still up, despite the fact that I've been taking my meds religiously and doing all the right things (163/89). So, the good doc has put me on an additional medication with the caution that I shouldn't be alarmed if he has to put me on a third medication. Apparently, it's not uncommon for patients to be on 3 medications to control their blood pressure. This bit of news bummed me out because Rob also suffers from hypertension and he's on the same medication as I am and that one little water pill has kept his number down and quite normal (120/80). I go back to the doctor in May for a further follow-up - let's keep our fingers crossed that med #2 will do the trick in conjunction with a much needed weight loss.
Anyway, that's it for now. I'll be back next week.
Total Weight Loss To-Date: 31.6 Pounds
Another week, and I'm down 1.8 pounds - so, in all, I'm a very happy camper. Last week I was up 1.2 pounds and now I've lost it plus.
With the weather really warming up this week, and the sun shining, there's no excuse to ramp up my activity level. So, in addition to working out twice a week, I'm back to walking home from the subway in the evening. Here's to keeping my fingers crossed that the addition to my routine will result in another week with a nice weight loss.
I really need this weight loss because last week, I went to my GP, and my blood pressure is still up, despite the fact that I've been taking my meds religiously and doing all the right things (163/89). So, the good doc has put me on an additional medication with the caution that I shouldn't be alarmed if he has to put me on a third medication. Apparently, it's not uncommon for patients to be on 3 medications to control their blood pressure. This bit of news bummed me out because Rob also suffers from hypertension and he's on the same medication as I am and that one little water pill has kept his number down and quite normal (120/80). I go back to the doctor in May for a further follow-up - let's keep our fingers crossed that med #2 will do the trick in conjunction with a much needed weight loss.
Anyway, that's it for now. I'll be back next week.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Just Call Me The Human Yo-yo!
Current Weight (as of Saturday, March 6, 2010): 177.2 Pounds
Total Weight Loss To-Date: 29.8 Pounds
Yes, I put on 1.2 pounds this week, and have an idea why. At the very least, I used and OVERUSED my points allowance - bad me. I really lacked any self-control and I'm beating myself up for it.
This past week, the social workers at my hospital were celebrating National Social Work Week. I had a very central role in organizing the grand finale event, which was a lunch, award ceremony and key-note speaker presentation. I was responsible for ordering the lunch which was as follows:
5 Leaf Lettuce Salad
Orzo Pasta Salad
Assorted Sandwiches
Assorted Dessert Tarts and Squares
Diet Pop
Not so bad, but I really should have stayed away from the dessert table - that was my huge downfall. I had a couple of squares and then at the end of the function, someone plunked a nice slab of birthday cake in front of me. Sadly, I didn't have the willpower to say "no thanks", instead, I wolfed the thing down like I was a holocaust survivor who hadn't had cake in years! By the time I realized my glutonous behaviour, it was too late - the cake was gone and in my belly. 8 points later, and I feel like crap. I'm so embarrassed by this.
I thought I could make it up by starting my intense walking again - no such luck. By the time I got on the scale on Saturday, the tale of the scale told a very ugly story.
On the positive side, I went with my parents to update my spring wardrobe, and was absolutely thrilled to discover that I'm now a Size 16 - which is 2 sizes smaller than when I started my journey. You couldn't wipe the smile off my face that day.
So, while I had a bad weigh in, I had a great clothing experience.
Until next week....
Total Weight Loss To-Date: 29.8 Pounds
Yes, I put on 1.2 pounds this week, and have an idea why. At the very least, I used and OVERUSED my points allowance - bad me. I really lacked any self-control and I'm beating myself up for it.
This past week, the social workers at my hospital were celebrating National Social Work Week. I had a very central role in organizing the grand finale event, which was a lunch, award ceremony and key-note speaker presentation. I was responsible for ordering the lunch which was as follows:
5 Leaf Lettuce Salad
Orzo Pasta Salad
Assorted Sandwiches
Assorted Dessert Tarts and Squares
Diet Pop
Not so bad, but I really should have stayed away from the dessert table - that was my huge downfall. I had a couple of squares and then at the end of the function, someone plunked a nice slab of birthday cake in front of me. Sadly, I didn't have the willpower to say "no thanks", instead, I wolfed the thing down like I was a holocaust survivor who hadn't had cake in years! By the time I realized my glutonous behaviour, it was too late - the cake was gone and in my belly. 8 points later, and I feel like crap. I'm so embarrassed by this.
I thought I could make it up by starting my intense walking again - no such luck. By the time I got on the scale on Saturday, the tale of the scale told a very ugly story.
On the positive side, I went with my parents to update my spring wardrobe, and was absolutely thrilled to discover that I'm now a Size 16 - which is 2 sizes smaller than when I started my journey. You couldn't wipe the smile off my face that day.
So, while I had a bad weigh in, I had a great clothing experience.
Until next week....
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
So, What's Up With The Contents of My Kitchen?
Current Weight (as of Saturday, February 27, 2010): 176.0 Pounds
Total Weight Loss To-Date: 31 Pounds
I'm happy to report that I had yet another week with a weight loss - a total of .6 pounds. Mind you, I'm not complaining. After all, I'm a firm believer (and practitioner) of "slow and steady wins the race". So, as long as the number on my LCD display scale keeps going down, I'm a very happy camper. Also, more and more people are really taking notice of my slimmer frame.
This leads me to believe I must be doing something right...right? Well, I confess, I'm not doing everything right. Lately, when I come home from work, I have started foraging in the fridge for something to tide me over until I have dinner with hubby. The other day, I actually dug into Mr. Cutey's Raisinettes - he must not have had any since then, otherwise, he would have asked me where half the box went, and I'd have to sheepishly admit to my moment of weakness.
It so happens that this week, at my WW meeting, the topic was "The Weight Loss Friendly Kitchen". The timing couldn't have been better! The leader, Kelly talked about the 4R's when dealing with the kitchen and making it more weight loss friendly:
Recognize that certain foods are not safe in the house.
Remove foods that are not safe in the house.
Renovate - Go through the kitchen and decide what you want and what needs to go.
Record - Track everything that goes into your mouth!
She gave us some homework too. We need to choose one task from the following list:
- Throw away 10 of the trigger foods that clutter my home.
- Renovate the kitchen contents.
- Or, on the fridge door, post a list of the current contents inside.
Given that I don't think I have 10 trigger foods in the house, I don't think this would be practical, but a good start would be to get rid of Mr. Cutey's cookie dough ice cream, what's left of his Raisinettes, and the 3 packages of vanilla wafers sitting on the microwave!
Renovating the kitchen contents isn't practical either because most everything (except the offending foods listed above) is healthy and okay to eat (hey, I didnt' lose 31 pounds eating ice cream and wafers!).
So, that leaves me the option to take inventory of my 2 fridges and post the contents on the door. By having to write down everything that comes out, just may be the trick to keep me honest and stop the theft of those pesky Raisinettes (Whoppers, anyone???). I'll keep you posted and let you know how that's going in the coming posts.
Until next week...
Total Weight Loss To-Date: 31 Pounds
I'm happy to report that I had yet another week with a weight loss - a total of .6 pounds. Mind you, I'm not complaining. After all, I'm a firm believer (and practitioner) of "slow and steady wins the race". So, as long as the number on my LCD display scale keeps going down, I'm a very happy camper. Also, more and more people are really taking notice of my slimmer frame.
This leads me to believe I must be doing something right...right? Well, I confess, I'm not doing everything right. Lately, when I come home from work, I have started foraging in the fridge for something to tide me over until I have dinner with hubby. The other day, I actually dug into Mr. Cutey's Raisinettes - he must not have had any since then, otherwise, he would have asked me where half the box went, and I'd have to sheepishly admit to my moment of weakness.
It so happens that this week, at my WW meeting, the topic was "The Weight Loss Friendly Kitchen". The timing couldn't have been better! The leader, Kelly talked about the 4R's when dealing with the kitchen and making it more weight loss friendly:
Recognize that certain foods are not safe in the house.
Remove foods that are not safe in the house.
Renovate - Go through the kitchen and decide what you want and what needs to go.
Record - Track everything that goes into your mouth!
She gave us some homework too. We need to choose one task from the following list:
- Throw away 10 of the trigger foods that clutter my home.
- Renovate the kitchen contents.
- Or, on the fridge door, post a list of the current contents inside.
Given that I don't think I have 10 trigger foods in the house, I don't think this would be practical, but a good start would be to get rid of Mr. Cutey's cookie dough ice cream, what's left of his Raisinettes, and the 3 packages of vanilla wafers sitting on the microwave!
Renovating the kitchen contents isn't practical either because most everything (except the offending foods listed above) is healthy and okay to eat (hey, I didnt' lose 31 pounds eating ice cream and wafers!).
So, that leaves me the option to take inventory of my 2 fridges and post the contents on the door. By having to write down everything that comes out, just may be the trick to keep me honest and stop the theft of those pesky Raisinettes (Whoppers, anyone???). I'll keep you posted and let you know how that's going in the coming posts.
Until next week...
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