September 25, 2010 297.2 down .6 lbs.

Okay, so I'm off to a slow start ... but, I started and I have enlisted help!  Eric went with me on Saturday to begin our journey together.  This is just not something that I do well on my own.  For those of you who know Eric, you know that he is very competitive and that helps me ...even when he wins!

I think it is fair to say that most of you are Christ followers.  Let me just tell those of you who are not, I serve an Amazing God!  One of the things that I have mentioned several times over the last few weeks is that I'd like to join a gym but just can't justify the money right now.  Well, I received a 3-month pass to 24 hour fitness in the mail!!!! I have plans already tomorrow but my hope is to go Wednesday after work and get it into my routine to start going in the mornings.  This is my self challenge for the week!  I am not a morning person and most of you also know that about me.

I didn't do that well this week with my activity, between the rain and the blahs it just didn't happen.  But, time to get up and dust myself off...better choices this week will mean a greater weight loss on Saturday.

Lots of exciting upcoming events to challenge me, crops, weddings, but I never said that I didn't want a challenge after all isn't that life?  A big challenge, I think so, we all have to learn to make better choices for ourselves and our families.  So I'm thinking that one thing I've learned is that a medium size Frosty is really not worth 9.5 points.  I mean if you have plenty of points at the end of the week ...maybe but for the most part ...naaaaah.  Not when you can have a cup of lowfat vanilla yogurt with fresh strawberries and blueberries for like 3.5 points...my new favorite snack!

Dinner tonight was Tex-Mex Turkey Burger....I will post the recipe before next week, they are amazing.  A Biggest Loser Recipe that I don't make often enough, great flavor and very satisfying total points for one 1/4 burger 7.5 points that includes, bread, avocado, cheese, turkey and veggies.  Yum!

So until next week I leave you with this......

It's tough being a woman...Beth Moore

My first week with Weight Watchers started 9-11-10 --301.4lbs

So, I did it!  I went and joined a local Weight Watchers group and weighed in on September 11, 2010. My starting weight was 301.4 lbs. It's a little startling to see, I must admit; although I know how much I weigh and I weigh several times a week. Having another person confirm that it is so is always a little harsh for me.  My first week was actually pretty easy.  I have started by making some very small changes.  The first ...MORE WATER ... I recently had already cut out the sodas and the diet sodas...I still indulge in the diet sodas maybe 1-2 times a week, I am for the most part drinking water.  Let's face it folks, what we choose to drink is simply a habit we develop.  Water is really good and it's good for our body.  I have always loved water and craved it so that indeed makes it an easy switch for me but still a challenge.  The second a healthier dinner ... dinner for me is the hardest meal to "get right" so that is where I focused my concentration.  I even hosted our ladies Bunco and kept everything healthy and trackable.  I made a great Spinach and Strawberry salad with toasted almonds and a white wine vinegar dressing that is incredible.  I also made a homemade Chicken Salad with a low fat mayo, celery, onion and some great spices.  I served the chicken salad with croissants but I passed on that and had mine on a bed of lettuce.  It was a great meal, easy and very healthy.


So for the big news!  I weighed in Saturday 9-18-10, at 297.8 a loss of 3.6 lbs.  I have to admit I was not thrilled a little deflated but excited that I am making progress and I am once again below 300 lbs.

My goal for week 2 is to get MOVING...a minimum of a 10 minute walk everyday.  I figure that this is something that is easy to do time wise, it is a great place to start, and for me, honestly 10 minutes is more than enough to break a sweat.  I started my walks today.  I took a pedometer with me and walked just a little over 10 minutes.  Nothing earth shattering, but its a goal and an achievable one that is what I need...Baby Steps!  To quote Shrek..."One step at a time donkey"!  (I can be a jackass sometimes so this is very appropriate).

I hope that you will check back next week and I will get pictures posted soon!

Thanks!

The background details you may not know

Most of you know that I have struggled with my weight for a long time.  The reality is that now it is seriously affecting my health.  In the spring of 2007 I started having troubles breathing, sleeping and swelling.  My doctor told me that all of my symptoms at the time were symptoms of congestive heart failure, which my grandmother died from in 1998.  The doctor told me that I "HAD" to lose weight and my options were to either go on Medifast or have weight loss surgery to get some of it off quickly.  I opted with the Medifast which is an all liquid diet that is doctor supervised.  I tipped the scales at 324lbs. in May of 2007 and over the course of about 6 months lost 68lbs. I felt great!  But, I was done, time passed and I slipped back into my old habits and most of the weight found its way back to my hips.  An all liquid diet for me just wasn't going to work any longer and rather than find an alternative I ended up following my old habits.

On my birthday this year I decided that I had to make some changes.  You see not only have I gained most of the weight back, I have continued to have issues with my health.  In October of 2009 I found out I had  Posterior Subcapsular Cataracts http://dro.hs.columbia.edu/psc.htm, in both eyes but more significantly in my left eye and had to have surgery on both for lens replacement before the end of the year.  The Ophthalmologist then sent me to my doctor for an A1C to check for diabetes.  I was borderline at that point and told to follow a low carb, low fat diet and then we would check it again in 6 months.  The doctor said that based on my medical history and weight she was diagnosing me as diabetic with no meds at this time. In July of this year I developed 3 hernia's which need to be surgically repaired.  One more significant than the others, and going to be fixed first. I am waiting for cooler weather so that I can heal more quickly. 

I have a friend who started her weight loss journey with Weight Watchers in 2008 and she has made great strides at achieving her goals and blogging about her success.  So one day recently it just hit me ...that's what I need to do!  For me knowing that my close friends and family are out there reading my blogs and seeing my pictures I feel like I will be more inclined to work harder to reach my goals.  I am not only going to post pictures I am also going to post my weekly weight...thus the name ...Ups and Downs.  I realize that this will be an ongoing battle and some weeks will be better than others. I hope that you will join, follow and support me through this journey and that you will find tips to help yourself along the way!

And so in closing this beginning entry I leave you with this thought...

" If we did all the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves"--Thomas Edison