Officially on Hiatus

scrach

Week 15

Geez I've been out of the loop!!! I think it was due to my yo-yo'ing of my weight. Wait...of course that's what it was. lol. I get so upset when I think the scale should be going down, and instead, it decides to take a trip on the up side. The good thing is, I stayed within the same amounts for a long time. I think I hovered between 233-235 for a good long while. But, that has ALL changed.

Since the last time I posted a blog, I have officially lost 5.8 pounds! As of this morning, I'm down to

230.0

I am so excited. Not only that...but I have lost so much weight that my pants no longer fit me! hehehe! Of course, this calls for clothes shopping...but, um..yeah..lol...no money to do so. So, I guess I need to invest in a belt...and THAT I can afford.

YES! I just checked my official totals. All this weight gone equates to...

23.4 pounds GONE

and

3.5 points off of my BMI!

All of which is a vast improvement!

Hopefully I'll be getting on here again next week to fill y'all in since I've been a jerk these past seven weeks. I'll do my best to remember. But, with the kids going to school, and my embarking on opening my own business (out of the home...oh gosh I couldn't do it otherwise)...I might not make it here. But, many of you know how to reach me in other ways, so if I don't post...PLEASE find a way to remind me to!

Week 9

*sigh*

Let me just say that I am so happy to report that for the last month (5 weeks) I've had straight declines! I'm so super excited. I got out this weekend and did some yard work with the family (lemme tell you, the yard is AMAZING), got sunburned (yes Sevi, I was outside long enough to burn! lol), and burned some calories. Even better, mother nature is rearing her nasty head right now, and even with bloating, I'm still down to

235.8

That makes it a total lost of

17.8 pounds

Let's recap the last two months

• June 1, 2009: 253.4 pounds 38.5 BMI
• June 29, 2009: 241.2 pounds 36.7 BMI
• Amount lost : 12.2 pounds 1.8 BMI points
• August 3, 2009: 235.8 pounds 35.8 BMI
• Amount lost: 5.4 pounds 0.9 BMI points
• Total Loss: 17.6 pounds 2.7 BMI points

Not too shabby! Now, to get my toosh back out there this week and get some calories burned. I'm shooting for my August 31st weigh in to be between 225-230! Think I can do it?

:)

I do too!!!

Week 8

And..........I'm down to....

237.6!

That's a total of.......

15.8 pounds!!!

I'm so excited! BUT, not as excited as I had hoped to be. I wanted to lose another 12 pounds in these past four weeks, but that's obviously not the case. I've only lost like 3.xx pounds...and it is 100% due to not being active. I've only got another 1 1/2 weeks before I will start walking again. I was telling Michael last night that I have "the itch." I WANT to go walk. I WANT to go run....I WANT to sweat, and breathe hard. I will do it again, but just not now. I'm getting so happy with how much my body has changed, in just the past 4 weeks. I started having Michael tape me on Mondays (thank you CWBL) and I have lost a total of 19.5 inches overall. How friggin awesome is that? So, while the pounds have been lingering, it's redistributing on my body, and I'm losing more than what I think I am (as well, I'm pretty sure I'm nearing PMS stages...so I just could be retaining....again. lol). Tune in next week to see more gone (if mother nature so sees fit) and feel my excitement as I become rested enough to start walking for cardio again! yay!

Week 7 1/2

So, I couldn't weigh myself on Monday as I normally do. Well....let me rephrase that. I COULD, however it was not accurate. Why? Because I wasn't standing on the scale correctly. No way I could. I was putting too much weight on my good leg, and holding onto the wall for balance. Yeah....it said 240.2 one min, and then I tried it again, and it said 242.6....um...I didn't gain 2.4 lbs in like 30 seconds. lol. So, since my knee was feeling better this morning, I decided to weight myself today. It said 238.8!!! I'm so happy! That's another 0.8 lbs down from last week, with a total weight of

14.6 pounds gone!

I'm very happy. Could it be more? Yes! And I truly want it to be more. BUT! I'm a bit um....restricted at the moment, so I will take ANY loss as a good sign at this juncture. I still have at least another week before I can go walking for cardio....I'm going to try and play it safe and wait two more weeks to give myself three weeks of rest. So, I shall return on Monday, I hope...with much better results. I'm drinking water like it's going out of style (yeah...120 ounces a day....I pee a lot. lol) And that's leading me to eat less.....well, except for that wonderful chocolate that Michael bought me. I just can't help myself. EEEKKK!!! (running off to get some more...shame on me)

Week 6 1/2

And I'm out of commission for cardio for AT LEAST 2 weeks. I have what is called patellofemoral pain (check it out here), as well as a grade I sprained MCL (check it out here mine is caused by excessive stretch, not blow to knee.) The nice Dr. McIntosh calmly advised me that I am not to even consider running again for at least 6 weeks, and maybe even up to 3 months. After that time, if I do decide to run again and I get the pain again, I WILL NOT BE ABLE TO RUN........EVER. If I do, I run a VERY HIGH risk of snapping the ligaments, which will result in surgery. Yeah, um.......I want to cry. I have been doing so good at getting my times down. I mean, come on! I played soccer for four friggin years and NEVER ONCE jacked up my knees. Maybe my ankles....but not my knees. And better yet, I could understand this happening if it was my bad knee.....the one where I fell 10 ft out of a tree, and landed completely wrong on my leg (in the hot Kansas summer...so imagine the stiffness of the ground...only good thing was it rained the day before) and never received treatment for it. I mean, I have a twisted lower leg...and it didn't get jacked up from running. It has a slight case of the patellofemoral pain, but NOTHING like my left leg. I'm so angry. All I want is to be active again. I didn't realize how much I missed running until I started getting my confidence back. So, I WILL try running again...maybe after 8 weeks. I will begin walking after 3 weeks and work my way back up. The nice Dr. did suggest to me to purchase an elliptical or a stationary bike. I'm cleared to do either of those after 2 weeks. She said that some people really just can't run...even if they did it before for a long time. It's just not fair. That's my take. :(

Week 6

And I'm down to

239.6!!

That's a total of 13.6 pounds GONE! in the last 6 weeks. *sigh* I'm in heaven. The only thing I'm actually upset about though is I didn't make my goal of running/walking a mile in under 14 mins. The lowest I was able to achieve was 14:08, yesterday. (Sunday 7/12). And mind you, this was while I was in some EXCRUCIATING pain. I ended up walking the second mile (as you can tell by the times) because the muscle that connects your calf to the muscle running down the rest of your leg was hurting soooooooooo bad. I could barely walk when I came through the door, and Michael actually told me to lay down and he rubbed and rubbed while I cried and cried. I honestly have a small bruise where it was hurting the worst. I have no idea what I did to it, but I never want to do it again. lol. And, I popped some ibuprofen before I went to bed, and woke up feeling like a champ...and went running/walking again. YES! Now, to make sure I exercise everyday this week is going to be my next challenge. Michael told me I need to rest my knees (they hurt, significantly), so he has offered to work me out tomorrow.....I'm actually scared. A lean, fit Marine is going to put me through hell. He even said, "you're going to hate me tomorrow." What the hell did I get myself into????

Week #5

And, I've backslid a little. Not too bad....only 1 pound...of which it's all water retention due to mother nature's wrath again. I'm not too upset though. I've done AMAZING this past week with working out. OOOO Did you hear????

I'M RUNNING!

Oh yes, that's right! That app on my iPhone that i've told ya'll about? Runkeeper? Well, the pro version of it has training programs now. Yes, yes, yes. There is also another app called "Couch to 5K", that Runkeeper has integrated into their app! Oh yes, I am now officially training myself to be able to RUN a 5k. I'm so excited! I've already cut over 4 minutes off of my time to run a mile. From 19+ walking it the first day (5 ish weeks ago) to now roughly a 14:28 run/walk. My goal this week is to continue to lose weight (and tell mother nature she's been evicted!) and to get my run/walk down to 13+, as long as it's unde 14mins, i'll be the HAPPIEST Christina you've ever seen! :)

See ya'll next week!

YAY!

Very excited! You know what today is? It's the end of the 4th week of me "being serious" about this damned weight loss. I'm thrilled! WHY???? Well, lets see......

Wouldn't you be excited too???? Not only that, I feel SUPER accomplished this week. Why? Well, i had gained back I think like 3, maybe 4, pounds last week. So, not only did I lose

12.2 pounds in 4 weeks

I also lost between 5.1 and 6.1 pounds, just in the last week!

If that doesn't make you smile, what will? Stay tuned for next week when I can share that I've lost more!

ETA:

I just read this article about Nike+ (http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/magazine/17-07/lbnp_nike?currentPage=1 ) And what I read was VERY interesting. It depicts EXACTLY the mindset that I use when I'm working out. HOWEVER, instead of using Nike+, I use RunKeeper ( http://www.runkeeper.com/ ) and Lose it!, both of which are apps on the iPhone. They are AMAZING apps to work with, and they are FREE! no additional hardware required! (although, you can purchase the RunKeeper Pro app for $9.99, and it's still WAY cheaper than Nike+ as you have to replace it every so often). If you have an iPhone 3G or 3Gs, DO NOT BUY NIKE+ This is MUCH better. PROMISE!

well poop

and that's all I can really say. :( I didn't walk like I needed too, ate a bit too much, and gained back 3 pounds. :( poo. BUT, this is my motivation. I will not get upset. I will not sit here and throw a pity party for myself. Why? Because it won't do me a damn bit of good. will that make the weight drop off like it needs to? No. Only action will, so that is what I will do. Stay tuned next week to see those three pounds (and hopefully more) gone! :)

Mike had to PT

So I didn't get to walk today. No big deal, just get up and do it tomorrow. The most frustrating thing I realized is that next week, for four days, he's going to be in Sacramento. ;( Which means....no walking. Gotta find something to do in the meantime. Maybe dust off the WiiFit....maybe

down to 10.1lbs lost. :) just thought I'd share. :) have a good day

My lungs hurt

But here's today's info. Need to go cool down.

Yay!

I walked again today. I'm so happy. :) Why you ask? Well, because I walked the entire thing. Yeah, I know I want to run it, but my body wasn't up to it today. So, I walked. AND, ironically, I walked a faster mile (and entire trip really) than when I added running to it! I promise! :) I'm so happy with myself.

I don't have time to write much, just wanted to share. Take a look for yourself if ya'd like to compare.

Here is today's

Here is Monday's

Here is Sunday's

Big improvement! :)

Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhh

not walking today. I've been so lightheaded and nauseous, not to mention completely exhausted since yesterday. I was going to tough it out, and walk this morning (although I nearly slept all day yesterday and all night, and woke up still tired), but when I got out of bed OMG I was dizzy. Yeah, not walking 3 miles like that, knowing that it wouldn't be healthy for me. SO, there goes my goal of all week. BUT, I will try again tomorrow. Hopefully I am feeling better. I NEED to be. lol.

Oh, and I guess mother nature is listening (obviously, she's why I'm "sick"), but I've lost 1.2 of those 1.3 lbs gained.....damn water weight. *sigh* I'll be back tomorrow, hopefully with another walking story.

Another day....

and another 3 miles. YAY! I averaged a bit faster today, and with less running. WHY? Because I again have a pissed off knee. This time it's the right side. I honestly think it's just my body protesting the cardio. Why else would it HATE for me to run? I mean seriously. It's okay though. I will force my way through it. Obviously it's not going to be a fast process, but instead a slow one. And that I can live with.

Michael cracks me up. He's trying his best to keep me motivated, and for him that includes countless questions like "when are you going to add weights?", "what else have you done today?" "You need to do some other sort of exercise, what do you plan on doing?" All of which is fine, to an extent. Although, I have to admit, I'm glad he's not "BARKING" at me anymore. I don't think I can stand much more of that. '

Oh, and today is the "official" weight day. Minus the fullness of the milks....I am at 247.0. That's an increase of 1.3lbs of which I blame mother nature. Hopefully next week I'll be lower again, as the bitch should have left my body and taken her extra water weight with her. hehe

So, here is my map for today and here is my ticker for the week. Lets hope things continue to improve! yay!

I've been sucking. lol

I haven't exercised in a few days...until today that is. The husband was out of town for nearly three days, and with no one to supervise the children, viola....no exercise. That's okay though. I learned that I need to motivate myself even more when he his home to help make up for when he's not. That way I don't feel so bad about myself. I'm hoping in time that I'll be able to still exercise even when he's not home....play group for the girls, a friend to watch em for an hour or so, maybe even a membership to the InShapeCity down the street (which has childcare). SOMETHING. But for now, this is what I've got. *sigh*

I did manage to exercise this morning....hubby was home! And, I decided to go further than before to help make up for the lost days. I even ran about half of the way, which made me feel good about myself. No, it wasn't a full on run the entire distance...I'd staggar run/walk/run/walk because I'm just not up to par yet. BUT, my goal is to be able to run the entire distance, if not more before all is said and done with.

As well, us women have it even harder to stay motivated. WHY? Because of something called "mother nature." I normally love her, but right now, her and her cramps, water retention, and mood swings can go elsewhere damn it! LEAVE ME ALONE! It's messing up my daily weights damn it. I know I didn't gain 2 pounds in a day....hello water....you may leave my body now....

OH! The iPhone has this amazing app. It's called RunKeeper. It tracks your run/walk/bike/hike and whatever for you by GPS and keeps it tracked for ya! It even keeps it tracked on their website, although I'm still trying to figure out how to access it for ya'll to see (the public version that it. I can see it myself. :) ) If you've ever heard of Nike+, it's relatively the same thing, just free. :)

ETA: figured it out! sweet! here's today's info: http://bit.ly/tVPQw

Who knew?

Housecleaning burns calories. I'm not talking a ton of calories, but it does burn an efficient amount. I've come to realize that cleaning this house makes me sweat....A LOT. Which is a very good thing (and it helps with the weight loss.) In our last house, I never worked up a sweat while cleaning. Even when I would work and clean that house from top to bottom, never did a bead of sweat build on my forehead. But, this house, oh man. Maybe it's because it's all tile floors (minus bedrooms) or maybe it's because of the sheer size of this thing, but sweeping, moping, dusting, cleaning counters, and doing laundry makes me sweat profusely. So, never assume that house cleaning is an easy task. Sweating while doing an activity = elevated heart rate + calories burned = exercise.+ proper diet = weight loss. 

another 0.3 lbs down

Welp, I've started over

Yes, with this darned move, I've gained back everything and then some. I haven't been very happy about it for a while, and didn't really know how to go about fixing it. Well, fortunately, there is this AMAZING bike/run/walking path that runs along the major creek in the town. and when I say amazing, it truly is that. It's mostly covered with trees, it's a paved path, and it has the nice serene sound of the creek running. Even better, the path runs on both sides of the creek, making for an easy loop...even though it is about a three mile + loop. And best of all, it's a block away from my house! So, I've started walking portions of it fairly regularly, to and from the house of course. I haven't walked the entire thing, but that's okay. I am comfortable with the fact it's going to take me some time to build up to that stage. Especially since my knee is quite pissed off at me. I do fine with every day walking, but for some reason when I go for "my walk" it starts to pop, and then swell, which in turn leaves me not doing the walk for a few days. The longest I took off was 5 days, but it was SWOLLEN (This was the first day it did it, prolly second walk, and I decided to run portions of the path.) When Mike finally made me ice it and the swelling went down, my ankle and hip began to hurt pretty badly too. I'm assuming it was from the increased blood flow back to the areas.  
I've also been keeping a daily record of my weight. I know that the "experts" say that you shouldn't weigh yourself more than once a week, but for me, I like to see my progress. I can tell when I've done something productive the day before, and it helps keep me motivated. If I can see that something is working, I can increase it. If I can see the immediate result of eating just little more than I probably should have, I can kick my own ass right away and fix it. I don't think this is a bad thing (although I'll probably be told I'm wrong). And as a result of me keeping track this way, and being dilligent with what I do and don't eat and some exercise, I've lost a whopping.....

7.4 POUNDS

I am so excited. I even showed Michael and he is extremely happy for me as well. Especially since he can tell it's having a positive effect on my attitude lately. :) So, here's to losing more weight, staying active, and eating healthy!

Still not feeling it.

Although I have been doing "better" in the amount of food I eat. Something else I've noticed, is that my hair is starting to fall out. THIS IS A GOOD THING. Why? Because that means that I'm entering that final stage of postpartum. My baby is 5 1/2 months old (roughly), and normally the hair loss is supposed to start around 6 months. This makes me happy, because then MAYBE it'll be easier to lose some of this weight. It seems that small exercise isn't doing enough for me, and I can't just get up and go walking with my girls.....at least not at the pace that I would need to, nor for as long. *sigh* 

This does get better right? I mean it seems like "if ONLY I could do x y and z, then the weight would just disappear." BLEAH.....that's what I say. lol

So, here's to another day of no progress.....someone motivate me please?

So, I've been lazy I guess

And I know that it's no friggin reason to be. I have "slowed down" on my journey, and to be honest, I am so pissed with myself that it's not funny.  The reason I've slowed down (or really the excuse I've given myself):  We're moving soon, and I need to get rid of the food in the house instead of buying more that we probably won't eat.  Sounds "okay" right? Well, maybe it would be if the food we have left in the house wasn't processed and dehydrated and a box of meals.  I bought a lot of this food over a year ago when that was the way that I cooked. Now that I actually know "how" to cook (totally a work in progress), I haven't touched these foods, and instead of throwing them away, I just saved them for the days when I didn't want to cook.  A noble action I do believe, but now that means that I have allocated our food moneys to other sources (because we're moving!) and fresh fruits and veggies??? Yeah, non existant. So, that leaves me "thinking" that I'm super hungry all the time. If I have those very necessities, I can snack on those, and I would be fine. But no....instead I have resorted to eating everything in sight (or at least it feels like it most days) and the majority of the time never feeling food. EVEN WORSE: when I do feel full or satisfied....I STILL EAT.  I don't know what to do. 

1)  I have mulled over the idea of going to the gym.

(Excuses)I don't want to pay for a membership when we're moving soon

they don't offer childcare

they charge an outrageous price for childcare

2)  I can just work out at home

(Excuses) I feel like a fool in my own home trying to workout

  The children require too much of my time

  I just don't have the energy

So, it's like I'm giving myself all kinds of "reasons" to not do this, yet I really want to. Frustrating much?  But, I did start working out again today. Even if it's something simple like a few crunches and leg lifts (not to mention a little bit of housework). It doesn't seem like a lot, but it's what I have for now.  Depending on where we end up living (find out on Thursday), I have been seriously considering a personal trainer...even if it's just the free one you get at first when you join a gym.  I NEED SOMETHING. I'm so frustrated. :(

Week 1 down...

5 days in, and feeling like i'm sluggish...

And to be honest, I really am. I have cut back on my food intake, but didn't cut regular soda out until yesterday. I had my first diet soda in over a decade, and it didn't taste too bad. But I kinda counter acted it with those damn biscuits. *sigh* I have a thing for pastries or breads....I know I dont have to cut them out of my diet altogether, but I need to learn some damn will power or I will have to. I got frustrated a few days ago, as I stepped on the scale (I know, I know, I shouldn't do it more than once a week, but I feel like I "HAVE" to know) and I was up to 246....how in the HELL can I gain 5lbs in a day or two? "It has to be water weight" I tell myself......right? Michael also pointed out that I haven't been exercising, which I haven't.  I started the New Year out being sick and on medicine, and in pain....I'm better now though.

I walked yesterday...I think it's about 3 miles total. I walked from my house to the community center and back, as I had to take the girls to school. I felt so bad for them cuz thier little legs hurt. Not so much on the way there, but on the way back when we had to tackle our hill. 0.4 miles uphill (some parts a bit steep) is a workout for their little legs. poor things. But, we did it, and I felt so much better. So, I got up this morning and did a round of Tae-Bo. It's not an easy thing to do, and it ticks me off that there are all these skinny muscular (some bone skinny) chicks on there. I see them, and it does give me motivation, but they can keep their balance. I CANT. I feel myself falling over, and I feel like giving up on it. I don't, but I'm scared that one day I will.  

I know this is a bit jumbled....just had to get the funk out of my head. Looking for some routine in all of this.....all I want to do is see the numbers go down. I HATE THEM GOING UP. I feel like when it's time for my official weigh in on the 8th....it's going to be the same or higher....

Day One

Well, it's officially the day that I start my journey. I woke up this morning feeling really good about my goal. "I can do this". I get up, go downstairs, and get on my wretched scale. I hold my breath, hoping that the number has gone down, and it has. I'm officially 241.0 lbs. That makes my total weight loss goal 66 lbs. This averages 5.5 lbs a month that I need to lose.



I can do this. Michael brought a point up to me this morning, that I hadn't thought about. I'm not happy with myself, and it shows. I guess I'm a tad bit more testy than I used to be, so hopefully me being successful in this will make me a happier person. I'll post my before pictures once I get them uploaded. It's not pretty, but it is motivation.