I did not weigh myself everyday over the past week. I might have missed a couple of days. It was not surprising that each time I got on the scale, it stayed the same. I have downed 2 bags of cough drops and have not exercised.

Yesterday, I had had enough. I walked on my treadmill for 30 minutes on 2.8 and a 2 incline. It hurt my chest. Oh well. I needed to move. If I'm going to sit still and cough, I might as well move and cough. I did arms and abs this morning. I can only get through 2 sets. Maybe next week I'll make it to 3. I have to thank my fabulous brother-in-law for setting me up with a great workout that stretches my abilities. Check out his website.

It took a week, but even with all my excuses, I was down to 172.4 this morning. It won't be long before I'm in the 160's (I'm thinking early next week would be nice) and I have not seen that weight in more than 15 years. Truly remarkable. If I can do this, anyone can do this. (I always hate when people say that)

Committment

That's quite a word. Committment. It starts with commit, which has two different definitions. Today was tough for me. I have a cough. Sounds ridiculous. But, that little ole cough has led to my lack of committment.

I haven't exercised since Thursday.
I haven't lost weight either.
Today I never got out of my exercise clothes...
and I didn't really exercise.

I know that I named this blog journey of health when all I could think about was weight loss. Well, it was my fear of bad health that started this journey, so I need to keep my eye on that prize. I am realizing that my health is connected to everything. I am feeling stress about huge committments this weekend. It is taking it's toll on me. I am a worrier. It does no good.

I like the days when I get up and keep my committments to myself. I follow my morning routine and I exercise and I shower and get dressed. But, not all days go as planned. So, I have to make a conscious effort to do something healthy anyway. Today, I really needed to smile more and not let my mind bring me down. As it stands, I am minutes away from gratefully falling into bed.

My health is connected to my body, my mind and my spirit. Maybe I won't make the best choices in every area every day. But, there really shouldn't be days where I make horrible choices in all three. That seems like a wasted day to me. For me, the power of the mind is, well, powerful. Imagine if I could harness that power for good.

I have done a great job. 3 1/2 months ago I was much more unhealthy. I will never go back. I can't. Each day is a gift. What can I do with that gift. TONS!

Thanks! I'm glad we had this conversation.

Menu Plan Monday (and a surprise)

Before I get to my weekly menu, lots of people having been asking for me to do this. I am posting a before and after photo. This first photo is from June 2009. The second is from January 24, 2010. I began my weight loss program on October 8. So, these are the results from 3 1/2 months of work.

Before, 220 pounds

After, half way to my goal, 173 pounds
I don't know how to put the pictures side by side.

Last week the boys loved the tortilla soup. The salmon was a huge hit, since I found the recipe at the last minute. I am usually too lazy to marinate my meat, but it was soooo worth it. I didn't have any soy sauce so I substituted Bragg Amino Acid Seasoning. My family totally raved about it. I served it with zucchini sauteed in the Bragg Seasoning and topped it with Mrs. Dash.

Monday: Crock Pot Roast
I can't eat beef, so I will be having a turkey burger

Tuesday: Crockpot Chicken and Brown Rice Casserole
I will be omitting the mushrooms.

Wednesday: French Dip Sandwiches I won't be making the rolls.
I'll be eating another turkey burger. I wrap it in iceburg lettuce.

Thursday: spaghetti and meatballs

Friday: tacos

Saturday: Nathan's gymnastics meet (I"ll get a chicken caesar from somewhere)
Head on over to organizing junkie to see hundreds of other menu ideas.

Gettin it done

I took Becky's advice to start weighing in every other day and then moving out from there. So, I didn't weigh myself yesterday. Today I held off until after my exercise. Due to the crazy rain, I did an interval workout on my treadmill. It was a little more difficult due to the fact that on Monday I had a few bites of some fetticini alfredo. Well, it caused me to get a sore throat (sound familiar) and I haven't felt well for a few days. But, I did it anyway and had some great success. I warmed up for 5 min. on 3.0 (the whole workout was done on a 2 incline). Then I ran 3 minutes on 4.0 and walked 1 min. on 3.0. Then I ran 3 minutes on 4.5 and walked 1 min. on 3.0. Then I ran 3 min. on 5.0 and walked 1 min. on 3.0. Then I ran 3 min. on 5.5 (an improvement from the 1 min. last time) and walked 1 minute on 3.0. Then I ran 30 seconds on 7.0 and I probably could have gone a little longer. Then I cooled down for 3 min. on 2.8 before I had to answer the phone. I was sweating profusely.
So, I was more than a little anxious to check my weight. I had been having thoughts of being stuck in the 170's for a while and seeing my 4 month goal of 60 pounds fading. But, when I stepped on the scale, I was in for a nice surprise(possibly why I need to stop weighing in every day?) My weight was:

173.7

It's amazing that I can still be awed in unbelief when I see the numbers go down on the scale. I am finally more than half way to my goal. I was told that it was possible to lose 60 pounds in four months and I really didn't think that would happen. However, I have 18 days until my four month anniversary of starting this program. Is it possible to lose 13 pounds in 18 days? Probably not. But, 8-10 pounds sounds plausible, which would put me at 55-57 pounds lost in just 4 months. Who does that? I guess folks on take shape for life do. And now, I am one of them. And now, I really want to show others how they can do this too.

The scale, friend or foe

I have an addiction to the scale. I'm not sure when it began. I don't think when you are fat that you spend your days standing on the scale. In fact, most fat people don't even know how much they weigh. I have always known. Through this current weight loss, I step on the scale every single day. Sometimes 3-5 times a day. It shows me what my body is doing at different times of the day. I always weigh the least right after I exercise.

These last two weeks have been interesting. I have lost 8 pounds. However only 1 pound came off in the last week. So, imagine the frustration I endure as I step on that scale day after day. I always have to look back to gain perspective. That is why they recommend that you only weigh yourself once a week. I'm not sure how to break myself of this habit. Any ideas?

Menu Planning Monday

I've decided to do my menu on this blog. I'm not very good at planning out my menu every week, but my desire is great. Due to my health plan, I eat dinner with my family, but sometimes I prepare my food differently. Usually it is fairly plain and it is seasoned with Bragg amino acids seasoning and Celtic sea salt. So, if you see something with cheese or soup just know that I am not eating it that way. Pllus, my kids don't really like much seasoning, so it's better to make it plain.

Monday:Tilapia simply seasoned with salt and paprika

Tuesday:Spaghetti squash with marinara

meatballs (frozen kind from costco)

grilled chicken

Wednesday:Fish tacos with leftover tiapia

For me it will be fish with bell pepper, fresh pico and avocados

Thursday: corckpot chicken tortilla soup

Friday: salmon

Saturday: I'm thinking Outback Steakhouse (we got lots of gift cards for Christmas)

I get the shrimp caesar salad

Head on over to organizing junkie to check out lots of great menu ideas.

Trying times

It has been a trying week for Nathan. Last semester he had strep throat 3 times and was put on antibiotics. Then in December he got a canker sore that grew into something hideous. Several times he bit it and it filled with blood. We took him to urgent care one night and they tried to lance it, but it was solid. Not good. They wanted him to go on antibiotics again. Well, enough was enough. We needed to get at the core issue. So, on Tuesday, we went to Dr. Hampton, the most amazing naturopathic doctor. Right away he knew that Nathan had an ulcer in his mouth and that it was caused by a food allergy. Add in all the antibiotics and you also get one messed up digestive system. Poor guy.



So, in many cases when you need to find out what you have been eating that caused all this, you go on the 21 day diet. Here are the foods you avoid:

wheat
oats
barley
rye
corn

sugar (refined and raw)
caffeine
soymilk
soda
pork
cold cuts
tomatoes(unless fresh and raw)
dairy
hydrogenated oils
chicken
chocolate
nuts

So, what can he eat?

fish
beef
turkey
beans
fruit
veggies
water
100% juice

Add to this that another doctor said to even further aid the digestion, avoid eating any starches with proteins and eat fruit alone. Plus he is taking lots of natural stuff to clean out his system. It has been very hard and stressful to do this for a 17 year old boy. He is doing amazing but can't wait to go get a pizza.

Now to my point of sharing this story (which was shared without his permission and I hope he never finds out).
I am amazed at the level of guilt I feel for having to force my child to eat in such a healthy manner. What?! we live in a time where bad food abounds and it has become the norm. It is just expected that during December you will eat lots of crap and gain weight. Why? I know Nathan loves the sweets. We all love the sweets. But, what is the cost?

The past 15 years of my life has been the price I have paid for eating unhealthy. I am the example that my kids have to follow. As I look through the grocery, I feel bad that I can't pick up some oreos. Just yesterday I bought cheetos and Megan was downing them. Something that stains you fingers for that amount of time cannot be good inside your body. I don't want to be a fanatic, but this is the life and health of my family. I have no doubt that if I had continued down the road I was on, there would have been massive health problems, and possibly an early death. How can I not want to save my family from all the heartache that is associated with unhealthy living? They may not appreciate it now, but they will later. (I wish my thoughts were more succinct. I hope you are following my brain process).

So, the lesson I hope Nathan learns is that his body can't handle the amount of junk it was being fed. He can have pizza when this is over, but there might be consequences, and he may need to eat that very rarely. When he serves a mission, I will not be there to take care of his medical needs, and he will need to eat as well as he can. When I am finished with my weight loss I know I will eat bad things occasionally. But, only if I am prepared for the consequences. My mind has made such a shift. The other night we went to the movies and Orson had popcorn and had them put extra butter in the middle of the bag, and aside from being grossed out, I was truly worried about that gunk coursing through his veins. I hope I can continue to be vigilant about this because I feel like I have missed out on blessings because of my disobedience of taking care of my body.

Okay, I'm done for now. I hope everyone makes great choices for their health today.

four milestone

Today I ran 4 miles without stopping for the first time in my life. I might goes as far as to say that I am a runner. This is so bizarre to me. I am 40 years old and I am getting stronger and doing something I never, ever dreamed of. In fact, if you asked me if I love to run, I still might hesitate. Weird! To say that I am excited is an understatement. I almost can't stop smiling. I am really proud of myself, and those days are happening more and more. I am way overdue for feelings like this and I have a lot of catching up to do. So, here are my lap times:

Mile 1-13:09 (running)
Mile 2-13:10 (running)total 26:19
Mile 3-13:06(running)total 39:26
Mile 4-12:48(running w/last ditch effort sprint)total 52:16

I can't believe how consistent my pace was. Especially since at about 3 1/2 miles I felt like I was going in slow motion. Go figure.

My weight was only down to 177.5. I was hoping for more. Oh well. Keep going. Even better for my mental and physical state, tomorrow is a day of rest.

fat thoughts

If you have never been fat before, it's hard to understand what is associated with this disease. Yes, I'll call being obese a disease. Today I was at Sprouts and I realized that for the first time, I was not worried about what others thought of me. You see, wherever you go, you feel like the heaviest person in the room. I usually would spend my time at Sprouts thinking that people would look at me and wonder why I was shopping there. It is so crazy. I know that I don't spend my time analyzing people while I'm shopping, but that's what goes through you head when you are embarrassed by the way you look. This is just one of many instances that are coming into view for me as I take this journey towards better health. This is a much better place to be.

Tears

This morning I did not want to run. My kids had late start and I was able to sleep in. That was nice, but it made me want to stay cuddled up and not go out into the big bad world of cold. It makes my nose run. But, knowing that I never want to see the 180's again and that my body is craving being in the fat burning zone and that I need to burn some massive calories, I got up and put my running clothes on. That was at 7:30. At 8:45 I was still here. I woke the girls up and didn't get going until 9:10. But, I was outside with a kleenex in each hand for my runny nose and eyes. For some reason, the cold just does that to me. One of the things I was doing this morning was rechecking my distances on this site. It seemed as if I was running farther than a mile.
ALLY I NEED YOU TO BRING YOUR SATELLITE WATCH OVER SO I CAN GET EXACT READINGS!
Anyway, I decided to kick it up a notch for my first mile to see if I could run at a faster pace. Again, I don't know if my mile is exactly accurate, but I ran it in 11:45. I don't think I have ever been under 12 minutes. I only had time to run 3 miles total, but my other 2 miles I walked and ran and they were both about 13 1/2 minutes. Not bad, and my face was still beet red, which is always a good indication that I am working hard.
As I mentioned before, I know that my body has been really wanting to be in the fat burning zone after so long out of it. Here is where the tears come in. As I stood on the scale this morning, instead of a scream coming out of my mouth, tears sprang to my eyes and a slight cry came out of my mouth. I am emotional as I am typing. My weight today is:


177.7

Despite this lenthy post, I feel pretty speechless. How is this possible that I can continue to drop weight? How did it take me so long to find a program that would work for me? How did I let my life get so out of control? How did I do this to my body? How could I ignore my health for so long? These questions are what get me out the door.
WAYLAND-I NEED A WORKOUT TOMORROW FOR ARMS AND ABS. I KEEP DOING THE SAME THING (CURLS, CHEST PRESS, OVERHEAD PRESS, TRICEPS, CRUNCHES) AND I WANT TO SWITCH IT UP A LITTLE. CAN YOU EMAIL ME?
I continue to look forward to your encouraging words. I appreciate you so much!

The end of a decade

For the first time in more than 10 years I weigh in the 170's. This morning I was 179.6. Could you hear me scream from where you live? It was a good one. I am finally gaining confidence that I will succeed in reaching my goal weight and keeping it off forever. The fearful thoughts have left me. I am so grateful to have been led to this program that is giving me back my health and my body. My family will be grateful. This year I was able to go sledding for the first time in 9 years. Next year I will get to go skiing. Did I mention how grateful I am? My hope is that my children will never have to go through the experience of losing an entire person in body weight. I want them to choose a healthy lifestyle. My next goal is to shoot for being in the 160's by Valentine's Day. I lifted weights this morning and did crunches on the exercise ball and ended with 3 sets of planks for 10 seconds each with my feet on the exercise ball. It's hard to imagine that in the near future, my gut could be gone. I can't look too far ahead, though. I am going to savor this little victory.

So Close

I sort of avoided posting over the last few weeks. Well, not sort of, I actually avoided it well. As we last left my saga, I had eaten that piece of toffee and was pretty upset about it. So, what do you think I did after that great run? I ate more toffee. I had some every day, in fact. By day two of putting sugar into my body, my throat was sore. Then in slowly moved into my chest. Can you believe that eating sugar made me sick? What's that about? Could it be that my body does not like sugar as much as I think it does? WOW!!!! But it didn't stop me. I continued to nibble on things here and there that were just not on my eating plan. We had Christmas Eve, then Christmas, then a trip to the snow, then New Year's Eve, then the Holt Christmas, then a trip to Blythe. I was afraid to step on the scale because I was not really exercising either because I was coughing. The amaing thing was that when I finally weighed myself, Iweighed 184.4. You see, my foundation is strong. I was still following the plan for 90-95% of the day and just messing up slightly. I wasn't going hog wild and ruining the entire day because of it. Is it possible that I see improvement here? I think I will give myself some credit.
So, it took until January 6 to get back to full fat burning zone and have a loss on the scale. But, I am going down. I did interval workouts twice last week on my treadmill. With an incline of 2 I warmed up for 5 minutes on 3.0. I then ran 3 minutes on 4.0, walked 1 minute on 3.0, ran 3 minutes on 4.5, walked 1 minute on 3.0, ran 3 minutes on 5.0, walked 1 minute on 3.0 and ran 1 minute on 5.0, 1 minute on 5.3, 30 seconds on 5.2 and 30 seconds on 5.1. Then I cooled down for 5 minutes on 2.8. I had intentions of lifting weights twice, but it didn't happen.
Now it is a new week. I decided last night that it was time to get back outside and run in the streets. There is just nothing else like it. But, when the weather outside said 37 degrees, I wavered. I was picturing myself on the treadmill once again. After breakfast and scriptures, I decided to go for it. I bundled up and hit the road. I am so glad I did. I actually shed my coat and gloves after the 3rd mile. Here are my splits for today, considering I have done this in 19 days.
Mile 1-14:29 (jogging)
Mile 2-14:00 (jogging a little faster)total 28:29
Mile 3-13:57(jogging, walking, running)total 42:26
Mile 4-14:19(walking, running, jogging on tired legs)total 56:45

As I prepared to step on the scale, I had two thoughts: I am so close to being in the 170's, which I haven't seen in more than 10 years, and I am close to being halfway to my weight loss goal. With my hands clasped in a prayer sign, I stepped on the scale, and here is what I saw.


180.0

That's as close to the 170's as I could be. So, that is my next step. I know I will scream outloud when it happens. I hope it's tomorrow. If it is, I'll be sure to post, then maybe I won't have to write a saga!