Thursday, February 28, 2013

Days 31 ~ 33...

This week has been super busy!  My daughter's track practice started Monday night and she is sore but doing awesome!  I am taking advantage and walking at her practices which gets me a 60-90 minute walk...woo hoo!  I met two new to track moms and they are both excited to walk and talk rather than just sit and talk...even when they don't walk, I will still walk on my own.

Last night I actually RAN the bleachers...RAN them!  The track team drill is to run up the stairs, run across the top, walk down the stairs, and then run across the bottom.  I ran most of the time on the straights and zipped up the stairs like I knew what I was doing...I could hardly believe I was doing it!  Another thing I noticed was that I was able to walk faster and breathe slower compared to last year when I would walk at her practices...so even though the scale hasn't moved much, my stamina has improved!

Tonight is night 4 and the last night of practice this week.  I am going to get a good walk in tomorrow morning to get a good start on activity for the day.  Another bonus is we have been eating an early light dinner and I have not been hungry, or eating, when we get home at 8pm!

Because I struggled so much last year trying to change my WW meeting times for Sat track meets, and now I have my parents to drive around and take care of, I decided to switch my membership to online only.  I still have a few more weeks to go to meetings before the meets start and I am already paid up anyway.  The difference in price will still allow me to keep my ActiveLink subscription and pay for the gym too!  I am so excited to get back to the gym...Monday spin class will be my first day.  I had to join this week to get the monthly special, but I didn't want to overdo and get sick again so I will start next week.

So much to do today...still working on my eats, but making progress everyday!

Onto Day 34...

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Day 30...

I did well with activity and eats today.  I lowered my ActiveLink goal and will raise it back up once I am 100% over my cough and breathing troubles.  Today I made it past 100% and earned 3pp.  I tracked all of my eats today and only used 4 weekly pp.  I wanted to eat several times throughout the day when I wasn't hungry so I drank extra water and brushed my teeth a few extra times!

This week will be busy with my daughter starting track practice.  While she is at practice, I will stay and walk for an hour and a half around the outside of the track.  Until I am better, I will not walk or exercise in the mornings, only at night at her practice...I am also going to walk at a slower pace than normal in efforts of not over doing it.  Once I am better, I will be able to exercise most mornings, and at her practices too...she has practice 4 nights a week so I should have plenty of time for activity!

I knocked out the majority of my to do list today and have tomorrow night's dinner planned.  Tomorrow I will finish the menu through this Friday and finish the rest of my list.  I am trying to stay ahead of things so there is as little chaos as possible.

Day 30...Success!

Onto Day 31...

Day 29...Weigh in & a Baby Shower...

I was up at WW...I knew I would be.  In the two weeks since my last WW weigh in, I gained 3.4 pounds bringing my total lost to less than 2 pounds.  I am glad I did not gain back all I lost.

I walked 1 mile before the meeting started after I weighed in.  It was cold, and it felt so good to walk, but my cough and breathing are still causing trouble.

My best friend's sister who I have known over 1/2 my life is having a baby.  My best friend threw her a Baby Shower yesterday.  My daughter and I went early to help decorate and set up.  We were there a total of 8 hours between set-up, the party, and clean-up.  I earned 6 activity pp for the day.  I brought healthy snacks for my daughter and I, weighed out my chips, and then I don't even know what happened.  Alot of the people invited, and confirmed to attend, did not show.  There were chips and sandwiches, and sweet strawberry punch.  I ate fruit that we brought, veggies, chips, and some croissant sandwiches...yes more than 1...luckily they were cut into thirds and I didn't eat most of the cheese.  I also used french onion dip instead of mayo.  I shared a super small piece of cake with my daughter.  When we got home I had a little of this and a little of that.  This morning...to my surprise...the scale was down 1.5 pounds from yesterday.  Looking back, I did not eat as much as I originally thought and I was moving all day.

I am considering today as Day 1 for this WW week and gave myself all 49 of my weeklies.  So far, so good.  I had a light breakfast of oatmeal and then a turkey burger and banana for lunch.  I am ready for a snack, but have -- and will -- track everything!  Today's activity has, and will, consist of laundry, cleaning house, and a bit of grocery shopping.  I am trying to be more active than I have in the past two weeks, but still taking it easy to help my cough and breathing improve!

Day 29...Success...

Onto Day 30...

 

Days 27 & 28...

This morning I had my usual good breakfast, took the kids to school, and stopped by the grocery.  I bought a few items to fill in for lunches and dinners for today and tomorrow. 

I bought some green peppers, red onions, and mushrooms to go with ham and mozzarella for a homemade pizza for lunch.  When I got home, I chopped and weighed everything.  I have to take my mom to the doctor and will get home just after lunch so I figured if I planned ahead it would be easier to stick with my lunch plan.  Today should be a good eats day.  My weight has reflected my lack of activity and lack of being on plan 100%.  On Saturday I weighed 229.50, Sunday 230, Monday 230.50, Tuesday 230, Wednesday 230, and again this morning 230.  I am happy to see the scale leveling out this week, but I am not happy with myself or my lack of progress.  I am hoping that my cough and breathing will be better within the next few days so I can get back to walking.  It really makes a difference in how I feel physically and emotionally, and it also affects how I eat.

I think being sick does not help my attitude toward weight loss and watching what I eat.  Thursday and Friday I went a little over board both days...it's over and now I need to carry on...

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Day 26...Not too bad...

Well after a few hours, my rolls rose beautifully and then fell...I think it was because the door was open which let a cold draft in and they needed to be in a warmer place.  I took them out of the "warmed" oven to make pizza for lunch and had to keep them out while it cooled down...bad idea.  Oh well...I will keep trying until I get it right!

I didn't get in very much activity during the day as this cough is really affecting my ability to breathe.  My eats were ok.

My husband has been helping our new neighbor totally renovate his house...they are like best buds who have known each other for 20 years, but in reality just met a few weeks ago.  Our neighbor works at UCLA...somewhere my husband has been trying to get into for years since he worked there for a few weeks and it was great.  He was only there a few weeks because he broke his foot at home playing tether ball with our son and the position was too new to be held for him.  Last night he applied for a mechanic's position which would be great for him.  The hours are kind of different, but he would have Sundays and Mondays off, and he doesn't mind working whenever.  I hope and pray that he will get this job and this will be the beginning of good things to come our way.  We are both hardworking and deserve goodness...we have been struggling for long enough!

Day 26....+/-

Onto Day 27...

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Days 22 ~ 25...Still Sick...Still off track...

I am still struggling with making good food choices and this nasty cough will just not go away!  I have not walked in 10 days and I am tired of being home so much.  Last night I did do about 25 minutes of exercise using my hand weights...I know it was effective because my arms are a bit sore this morning.  I took my son to the doctor this morning for a physical for sports.  We took the stairs, like we always do, and by the time I got to the top, I could hardly breathe...it was awful!

I have got to get my $h!t together and get serious.  I am just tired of being sick and when I am tired, and or frustrated, I am drawn to food...more than usual.  Today I weighed 230...3 pounds more than the last time I weighed in at WW 11 days ago and also my starting weight with my DietBet competition.  I am disappointed in myself...in my living situation...in my cough that won't leave...in general. 

I know I can lose this weight.  I feel like every time I get on a good roll, something happens to get in the way of me and progress.  As long as I keep getting up every time I am knocked down...one day I will reach my goal!

Today has been a pretty good eats day.  I had an opened faced fried egg sandwich for breakfast.  A bit of chicken, guacamole, and a banana for snack, and a homemade pizza for lunch with yogurt.  I am not sure what we are having for dinner, but I did start a batch of homemade rolls using a new recipe.  I found another recipe I liked at first, but then I decided that I don't love the texture on the inside...I am looking for softness and the ones I had made were airy and almost dry...like a super cheap white sandwich bread. 

3 more days until weigh in.  I did "weigh in" on my WW app since I didn't go to the meeting last Sat...I hope it counts as a real weigh in so there might be hope that I can either maintain or lose a bit since I did gain last week...we'll see.

Days 22 ~ 25...Not so bueno...need to lose the cough and get back to me!

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Day 21...

I started the day well and then went nuts.  I think I got out of control because I had already decided to skip my WW meeting because I am still pretty sick.  I made homemade pizza for lunch which was a good idea until I had to have more than my original reasonable serving.  By the time dinner came around I really wasn't feeling well.  My throat was on fire from coughing all day and I wanted something cold and soothing.  I opted for a chocolate shake.  I also had a few chicken nuggets, and a chicken quesadilla that was so spicy it didn't even taste good...why do I even do that sometimes???  Just keep eating just to eat???

Oh well...$h!t happens!  I was up 2 pounds this morning...it is was it is.  Being sick for over a week has taken its toll, especially since my kids and hubby were sick too, and now my mom is sick with the same thing....and I am still not 100%!

I woke up this morning, logged my weight gain in the DietBet game, and will carry on.  I have a fresh new balance of weeklies and I tracked my breakfast.  This week I have got to feel better, and I will eat better to get the scale to go down by next Saturday!

I have tons of laundry and housework to get done, so I better get at it!  I did not earn any activity pp this week beyond Saturday...I am determined to get better and back on track...1 rough week is not going to get me off track!

Day 21...Not so great...Day 22...going to be much better!

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Days 16 ~ 20...So Sick!!!

Sunday morning I started getting a sore throat.  My hubby took me to a Mexican restaurant for an early Valentine's Day dinner.  I made really good choices and tracked 100%!  I had a bowl of chicken tortilla soup that had a ton of veggies and the best broth ever, a cheese enchilada that had the best sauce...I wanted to lick the plate when I was done, Diet Coke, salsa and 24 tortilla chips.   I counted out the chips and then broke them up one by one and really focused on the flavors and taking my time...I could do it all over again...it was that good!  I had done so well with my eats that I only used a few weeklies at dinner...and by a few I mean 2...woo hoo!   When we left I felt perfect...not stuffed, not hungry, just right!

On the way home we rented a few family movies.  By the end of the second movie I really wasn't feeling well.  My throat was scratchy and on fire, my head hurt, I felt nauseous, it was awful. 

Monday morning my hubby and kids woke up feeling awful too.  I kept the kids home from school and we spent the day in bed.  I didn't even get up to eat until after noon.  My husband came home early from work...a first ever!  He has never taken sick time, not even when he hurt himself at work and needed stitches...he got stitched up and went right back to work the same day!

Tuesday was similar to Monday except my husband didn't go to work at all.  Yesterday he was back to work and since the kids and I were not getting any better, I took the three of us to Urgent Care...
$ 135 later we were told to continue the over the counter medicines we were taking.  I'm not sure why but while we were waiting for the doctor to come into the room I had an anxiety attack.  I had one many years ago when I was working way too much, but it was nothing like yesterday.  I started to feel nauseous, got the cold sweats, my vision went blurry, my arms were tingling, and then my fingers starting cramping and I couldn't control them...it was so scary!  My son found a nurse and they gave me a shot for nausea.  About 5 minutes later, it all happened again.  They laid me down and took my blood pressure, apparently it had dropped drastically as a result of the injection.  After another 10 minutes I felt better and we left.  Since I don't know why the attacks happened, it kind of makes me nervous that it could happen again so I am trying to be calm and not worry.

I have done well tracking this week in spite of being so sick.  One night my hubby drove me to the store to get some Gatorade and we picked up pizza for dinner so I wouldn't have to cook.  It was "pointier" than my homemade pizza, but it was ready and I tracked it all.  Unlike many people, I still like to eat...even when I am sick.

My weight has gone up and down drastically since Monday...going from 227.50 to 223.50 and back up to 227.50 this morning.  Last Saturday I weighed 227 I am hoping to at least maintain by this week's weigh in although a small loss would give me a feeling of "well done, even though you were sick"!  I'm hoping it will go down a bit by Saturday.  I can't expect too much, but I certainly don't deserve to gain!

Both kids will be home until Tuesday as tomorrow and Monday are school holidays.  I hope we are back to 100% before then so we can enjoy a bit of their time off.

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Day 15...Another good day!


Everyone is snoring, except my 16 year old son who is still playing video games with his friends. The dishes are done, the house is picked, only one load of laundry left, my desk is almost cleaned off, my daughter finished her book report, and I feel like I have checked a bazillion things off of my to do list!  Tomorrow my hubby and I are supposed to go to lunch or dinner to celebrate Valentine’s Day…his idea!  Not sure where we will go or what we will do, but if my daughter is still not feeling better I will stay home with her.
 
My dad’s birthday dinner and homemade no bake cheese cake turned out well.  I got in plenty of water, veggies, fruit, and good protein in today.  I used 12 of my weeklies and I am happy with all of my choices!  After cooking dinner I had 6 activity pp, the last time I checked I was to 8…earned 2 just by walking around the house picking up and going from room to room…woo hoo!

Today was successful and I know tomorrow will be too!  I am taking tomorrow as a rest day from exercise…if I make it to 100% so be it, if not, not to worry!  I am not too worried about what to eat when we go out tomorrow, I know I can make good, delicious, choices and I will track it all!

 

Day 14…Success!

 

Onto Day 15…

 

Day 15...Weigh in...Diet Bet Weight Loss Challenge...

Last night I didn't sleep well.  I know I was super anxious about this morning's weigh in since the scale had not been cooperating the last few days.  This morning it was down to 227.0...woo hoo! 

Since the scale was higher than expected last week after I walked a mile, I decided that I would not walk before I weighed in today.  That proved to be a good idea because I was down 2.6 pounds!  2 pounds that I figured according to my scale, and the extra .6 that it should have been down last week.  I did walk a full, quick, cold mile between weighing in and the meeting starting.  I did not walk after the meeting because I had some grocery shopping to do and wanted to get home.  My daughter is not feeling well again and is running a fever.  I don't know why she keeps getting sick, I think it may be that she hasn't gotten over what she had and then is exposed to something again.  We are just having a quiet day and I am hoping she is better quickly!

My total weight loss is now 5.2 pounds!  In only two weeks and I still feel the same motivation to keep going that I did the week before and the week before that!  No more up one week, down the next, only to be up the next!  I am so glad I stuck to my guns and reset my WW weight loss to 0...I think it was just what I needed to really put last year's struggles behind me, commit to working on my health 100%,  and to have a "fresh start"!  I didn't tell my leader that I reset, and she found out in this morning's meeting when I was celebrating my "first" 5 pounds.  I think she was in shock, as were other members.  Once I explained my reasons for the reset, they were all very supportive.

I joined the Diet Bet weight loss challenge being hosted by Jen @ ItSuxToBeFat.  This is my first weight loss challenge and I am so excited!  So many have joined and I know the support is going to be amazing!

I am already over 75% on my ActiveLink so I am sure I will make it to 100% by the end of the day.  Today is my dad's 83rd birthday.  I made him a cheesecake, bought him a book about JFK, and will make steak, baked potatoes, and veggies for dinner.

Tons to do as always...Day 15...WILL BE a successful day!



Friday, February 8, 2013

Day 14...another WTH scale morning!

This morning I was down .5 pounds from yesterday, but the scale is still not reflecting all of my efforts!  Instead of throwing in the towel, I took my 3 mile walk after I dropped the kids off at school.  My eats today were totally on plan and I tracked them all!  Even though I had 5 weeklies left after dinner, I was satisfied with my dailies and didn't use them...not even when everyone else was having dessert and there was 1/2 of a roll sitting all alone calling my name.

For my walk this morning I parked in the grocery store parking lot where I needed to shop for some sale items.  It was 40 degrees, a bit windy, and super chilly.  It is amazing how different the same temperature can feel with wind and clouds added to it!  I am not complaining though...living in Southern California I will take cold over hot any day!

After my walk I did my shopping, ran into Staples to turn in a used toner cartridge, ran into Target to find my daughter a new water bottle so I could have mine back, and drove thru the bank since it was too early and not yet open.  When I got home I put the groceries away, spent about 10 minutes on the computer, changed my clothes, took my mom to get her hair cut, came back home to make lunch, ate lunch, and then I was off to help at my daughter's school.  After school we brought home her best friend for a play date.  I spent a few hours in the kitchen packaging meat, cereal, and crackers.  I also made a marinade for some skinless chicken legs.  For dinner we had "Shake N Bake" chicken tenders, veggies, and fiber-rich pasta with yogurt butter.  I did not have any pasta.

So far I have earned 10pp and reached 138%.  I still have to finish some laundry and make my hubby's dinner so I know I will earn even more before bed.

Tomorrow is my "second" weigh in and I hope the scale is good to me.  Even if it is not I am not going to give up, but it is so much easier to carry on when I am rewarded "Along the Weigh".

Day 14...Success!

Onto Day 15 and weigh in!

Day 13...

The scale was up 1.5 pounds this morning...what the heck happened?  I have NO Idea!  I exercised, ate well, tracked 100%, only used 2 weeklies, and drank plenty of water.  The only thing I can think of is we ate dinner too late?!?!  My husband wanted to go and get shoes after he got home from work.  Our trip made dinner late because I refused to drive-thru and instead made a healthy pp friendly home cooked meal.  Damn scale!  Oh well...I am still happy with my decision not to drive-thru and to stay within my pp!

I got in another good walk first thing in the morning, earned 11 activity pp for the day, and reached 145%!

Day 13...Success...whether the scale agrees or not!

Day 12...

This morning the scale was down another .5 pound...woo hoo!  I got in a good walk this morning and did well with my eats.  I used 2 weeklies, earned 9 activity pp, and reached 126%. 

Good, busy day!

Day 12...Success!

Day 11...

This morning I still did not feel well when I woke up.  I have to take my mom to the doctor and have a ton of things to do around the house.  I am going to try and take it easy so I feel better and can get in a good walk in tomorrow.

Saturday I weighed 229 (on my home scale).  Sunday...230...Monday...229...Today...227.50!  I have really been working hard tracking and controlling my eats (consistently) and it is paying off.  I would love to lose at least 2.4 pounds this week so I can celebrate my "first" 5 pounds lost...we'll see!

I did not earn any Activity pp for the day, but I did well with my eats and only used 8 weeklies!

Day 11...Success...

Onto Day 12...



Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Day 10...

Yesterday I only earned 1pp and reached 59%.  My son stayed home sick from school with the stomach flu.  I put my gym clothes on, took my daughter to school, ran a few errands, and by the time I was ready to walk I wasn't feeling well.  I think all of the constant go, go, go is catching up to me.  We rarely do anything fun and I think it is important to have some good to balance out the bad.  Some days I feel like I am just surviving rather than actually living!

I ate well throughout the day and tracked every bite.  When I was cooking dinner I really didn't feel well...super hot, super tired, and just worn out.  We were having hodge podge to finish up some leftovers so I mad my parents' dinner, took a quick cold shower, made my kids and husband's dinners and went and layed down.  A while later I was physically hungry but didn't want to eat so I had a small bowl of cereal.  I ended up eating 2pp under my dailies.  I will add them back to my weeklies which will give me 20 to use during the rest of the week.

We should be getting our tax refund direct deposited tomorrow.  Sadly it will all go to pay of debt, but thankfully so as well.  Last year was tough health wise and financially.  I am hoping this year will be better for both.

Day 10...Success!

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Days 7, 8, 9, & Weigh In...

Day 7 ended well, I stayed within my dailies and even though I missed my walk because my daughter was sick, I earned 6pp for the day!

Day 8...I got to WW early and walked a little less than 1 mile before I weighed in and 1 full, quick mile after I weighed in to get back in time for the meeting to start.

I lost 2.8 pounds this week...and Aunt Flo is still here...woo hoo!  My scale at home showed a greater loss, but I don't care...I will take it and be proud of my efforts this week!

When I got home from WW I started laundry and took my mom to the gym to swim.  I picked up my mother-in-law at 1pm.  We ate baked fish sandwiches and baked zucchini for lunch and then got busy cooking.  We spent the cooking and finally finally finished around 11pm.  I did a ton of laundry but still have bedding to do today.  I was careful about what I was eating, how much I was tasting, I tracked everything, and I only used 16 weeklies!  I had planned only using 15 today and 15 tomorrow so I could have 5 each day for M ~ F, so going over 1 I am going to consider a success!  I also earned 14pp of activity and reached 175%!  Cardio included "mashing" beans for a full 30 minutes cranking the handle on a meat grinder...who knew that could be a good work out if you move fast enough!?!?

Day 9...This morning we woke up early.  My husband was going to a friend's to work on his truck and I had to take my mother-in-law to the Metrolink.  I had to cut up the rest of my hubby's ice cream cake to make room in the freezer for the kazillion pounds of beans we made yesterday.  I decided to have a 4pp sliver for breakfast...I took my time and enjoyed it!  Around 10am I had a banana and a small fish sandwich.  It is almost noon and I need to make a real lunch.  I am feeling good about my food choices and not feeling like I want to spend the day in the kitchen eating...woo hoo!

Off to do more laundry, pay bills, and then sit and relax with my daughter.  Yesterday was a long, busy tiring day and I think I deserve a break.

Onto make Day 9 a good one...

Friday, February 1, 2013

Day 7...One day to go...

Yesterday went well.  Looking back I think I shouldn't have saved so many weeklies for a Thursday.  The scale was up this morning  from yesterday.  It could have been eating so late, eating 17 weeklies on top of my dailies, I didn't figure the pp right on something, Aunt Flo...who knows!?!?!

My hubby's surprises all went well and he was happy.  I got a blurry photo of when he first walked in the door and saw his "beer cake".  I was in the patio waiting to take his picture like a stalker.

Dinner turned out well.  I made beef Milenesa (bread beef quickly cooked in oil), purple mashed potatoes, chicken for my daughter and I, Guacamole, and veggies.  I have been so "good" all week.  Milenesa is one of my weaknesses.  It is so good and goes down so easily...too easily!  I counted pp for what I ate, but I am not sure how accurate it was because of the breading and the oil.  I also had a 1/8" inch slice of cake instead of pudding, but I figured and re figured and decided it was probably 2 or 3pp...I counted it is 3pp.  So all in all I still think I did well yesterday. 

I earned 5pp of activity for running around all day.  I will be sure to have a good day today and I am still hopeful the scale will be down tomorrow morning...Aunt Flo and all dangit!

Off to start Day 7...Prepping for the mother-in-law's visit...grocery shopping, cooking, laundry, picking up the house, etc...