No graph today.

At this point I have been basically the same weight for a month.

Am I surprised? No

Am I disappointed? Slightly

Am I annoyed? YES

Am I going to let it get me down: NO! 
 
On 7/8 I was 270.5 and today I at 270.5. My weight loss has stalled and I am looking for ways to mix things up again. I need to get back on track with food tracking. I may not be seeing changes on the scale but I am feeling changes. I am stronger and my clothes are fitting better/differently. My size 22/24s are starting to SAG. I am feeling like my exercise is part of a routine and not something that I just have to do. I am making time for it and making it a priority. This is a great thing. I love that I asked to be pushed harder at Pilates. The scale will move down again. I have other things that I measure and each one has improved this week. I worked out every night. (Tai Chi/Water Aerobics/Pilates/Elliptical/Water Aerobics) I am still very much aware of my abs from Pilates. 


Any ideas of things I could do to mix things up? Anyone in the area of Lexington KY like to meet up?

Thursday NSVs

I got my new size 22 bathing suit on Tues and wore it for class that night. I LOVED it! I think I have finally found a keeper and a style to buy in the future when it wears out or I need a smaller size. I also think it will last longer than some of the other ones I have had. It is a Dolfin Women's conservative scoop back swimsuit that I got online from Dick's Sporting Goods. Going into Dick's sporting goods intimidates me. The times I have gone in have not been the greatest. The employees were not that helpful or nice. I did like being able to purchase online though.


Last night at beginner Pilates it was just the teacher and one other person. The guy is a regular who usually stays for the advanced class. I asked for more torture intensity since there were no others in the class. I wanted to find out if I could maybe handle the advanced class since I have been going pretty regularly now. She said I have really good form and she can tell I have gotten better. She was willing to increase some and I am so feeling it today. It is a good feeling!


What are some of your Non-Scale Victories this week?

I am finding it hard to define what would be considered a non-scale victory. One easy one to mention is when I increase time/distance/resistance/weight when exercising. I love reading NSVs from others because it helps me to define new goals and also to recognize achievements I have done.

Tonight has gone down the tubes

I was having a really good day. Food choices were in line and I enjoyed what I had during the day. I came home and had a small dinner before heading out to Tai Chi. Great time at Tai Chi. We are now up to move 14. Then at some point something switched in my brain. I am not sure what it was. I am still trying to analyze my feelings and what happened. I can not pin point exactly when things started to cycle in my brain. It feels like it was a switch, but it might have been a gradual thing over the past couple of days. Finally tonight it came to a head. When it became all about what I could eat before bed. Tonight I binged.

FMM= Friend Making Monday

Kenlie over at All the Weigh has a regular feature called Friend Making Monday and I am alittle late participating today.

From her post: "If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section here at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!"

FMM: Defining Moments

Was there a defining moment in which you realized that you needed to lose weight?  If so, will you elaborate? (If you experienced this moment in some other area of your life, please feel free to share that too!) 

 

 My first 'wake up call' was in September of 2010 when at my doctor's office the scale registered 339. I had always said in my head that I never wanted to be over 300. Here I was now at 339 and I could not register on my Wii or on my scale at home.  I started losing some then but not monitoring my blood sugar as I should. In January my A1c was 7.4 and my doctor increased my diabetes medications. At that point I had lost about 10 lbs but my numbers were still bad. On January 15th 2011 I started to keep a food diary and I joined the Y at the beginning of February. So my defining moment was not wanting to be on my medications and go down the road to having to take insulin shots. I want to keep that as far away as I can. To do that I have to be in better shape and take better care of myself. That means exercise and eating better. 6 months later I am still making strides and actually enjoying exercise!

Friday Weigh In

I started this post this morning before work and had plans to finish when I came home at noon. I took a 1/2 day today. I love only working 1/2 days. Well I did not get back to the post till now. (8:30pm) Today has been a good day. I still have more things to do. now to my Weigh in Post

Lets start of with 2 things that I purchased yesterday. Once again I am on the hunt for a swim suit and made a purchase from Dick's sporting goods.

It is called a Dolfin Women's Conservative Scoop Back Swimsuit. I had a 10% off code and it qualified for free shipping. Now I just have to wait till it gets here. I am really trying to find a style that I like that I can find regularly when I need to purchase another suit. I did look at speedo but nothing on sale was in my size. I got this one in a 22. The bottom 1/2 of the 2 piece I have been wearing has started to wear thin. Chlorine so does a number on cheaper swimsuits. I know I need to get some good cleaning solution to help increase the life of my suit. For the swimmers out there what do you do to keep increase your suit's life?

I also ordered a BlackHawk 100oz Hydration System in black from Galls.com. A friend from work got one and I got to look at it some before I decided on buying it. Well really I ordered it from the store since the Warehouse and Corp offices are in town. I went and picked it up this afternoon. It is on Clearance- Score! These things can run up to $100 and this is on clearance for $30. I think it will really help on the bike rides that I am starting to do. I just need to have the weather get alittle cooler. Right now we are in a heat advisory till Saturday. 

Now on to the numbers. I am not showing much change in the scale but I can tell a difference again in how my clothes are fitting. This is a very good thing. I wore a shirt yesterday (size 26/28) that has to be retired to become a night shirt now. It was just billowy. 

By the Numbers
 
Weight: 269.6 lbs

Loss: -0.5 lbs
 
Total: 58.4 lbs

Avg: 2.16 lbs/wk
 


I did not get as many workouts in this week and I think that impacted my loss. I am also having a hard time on the weekends. I know that I need to get back to more of a 90/10 instead of like 75/25 that I have been doing on my eating. Fast food has been creeping in again. Today I had McDonalds and Rallys. Better choices than I use to do, but still it is fast food. It gives me something to work on this weekend and next week.

Migraine my old friend

I have had a couple of months pain free but that ended over the weekend. I had been slowly feeling a migraine coming for a couple of days. My brain was starting to fog up and other things. I had been doing things that usually will head it off at the pass but that was not to be this time. Last night I crawled into bed early and when I woke up this morning it blossomed. I was slurring as I talked and could only open my eyes a crack. The sun it burns! Work was called and I spent most of the day in bed with the curtains drawn.

I have not exercised since Thursday. I missed Tai Chi tonight due to the migraine. I am hoping I am up for water aerobics tomorrow but I will have to wait and see. I will be crawling back into bed soon and hope the brain fog lifts some more. I was able to eat some bland things tonight. Comfort foods happened.

In some good news my blood work from Wed came back. My A1c was 5.6 (down .1 from 3 months ago) my total cholesterol was good but my good is still low and my bad is still high. At least the good cholesterol is higher than it was 3 months ago. I think the niacin is helping as well as the exercise.

Time to go crawl back into bed. Tomorrow is another day.

Weigh In

Quick post today as I try to wake up. Today's weigh in is basically a hold steady. My NSVs from yesterday totally overshadow the tiny loss registered this week.

By the Numbers

Weight:  270.1 lbs

Loss: -0.4 lbs

Total: -57.9 lbs

Avg: 2.23 lbs/wk

There you go! Now it is time to get ready for work. I am so glad it is Friday! The plans for the weekend include working around the house and a trip to Louisville. Do you have any plans for the weekend?

NSV Thursday

I had my 3 month follow up yesterday with my great primary doctor.  She was very happy with my weight loss and my blood pressure. I am happy that she has provided me with my 3 Non-scale victories today!

1) I am now off Glyburide completely! 

2) My water pill (Furosemide) dosage has been cut in half. I was taking 1-2 40mg pills a day and now the recommendation is a 20 mg pill daily if needed. I can take 2 if the swelling is bad because of it being the summer. 

3) She wants to see me back in 6 months instead of the usual 3 since I am doing so well. 


Why yes I am really pleased with my results! Of course she mentioned the dreaded M word (mammogram) when she saw that in October I will be turning 40. The other annoying thing was the new handout they had to give out. The nurse lists your BMI in a spot and the handout just gives ideas/guidelines about what the BMI means and how to change it. The nurse was so not enthused about doing it. She said that if I said I smoked then she would have had another handout for me. I did get my blood drawn for a fasting lipid and a 3 month sugar test. I should get the results in about a week. I was so glad to eat at 3:30!

What are some of your NSVs this week? 

My exercise schedule

It seems I am getting better at making exercise a priority. My problem now is finding the time to get all the different types that I want to do in during the week. Right now I have something scheduled for 4 out of the 5 workdays and each class is 1 hour. What is also nice is that it a nice mix of cardio and strength training I think. I am feeling very balanced in my workouts.

Monday: Tai Chi from 7-8 pm

Tuesday: Water Aerobics from 6-7 pm
 
Wednesday: Pilates from 5:30-6:30 pm
 
Thursday: Off or maybe 30-45 minutes of cardio equipment
 
Friday: Water Aerobics from 6-7 pm

I still want to figure out time to go out on the rental bikes at the Y. The big problem lately has been the HEAT here in Lexington. It was just not good to be out over the weekend or this week. I would like to get to Louisville once for Zumba w/ Katie. I want to look at some of the free classes that are around town. Maybe even try a yoga class. Then there is belly dancing or even Jazzercise. This time it has really helped that I am not just doing cardio machines. I love the classes and being in a group setting. Tonight's Tai Chi class had about 20 people. There is room for more though if anyone is interested. It is at Beaumont Y on Mondays from 7-8pm. Cost is $109 for non-members or $69 for members. It is fine to start on the 2nd week. We only learned the first 5 moves. (there are 60 moves) I would love to have some other friends in the class!

The graph is back!

The new scale is registering the same thing the first 2 times. I am glad we got this at target. It is nice that there is a back light in the display so I do not have to put the light on if I want to weigh.

By The Numbers 

Weight: 270.5 lbs

Loss: -5.1 lbs (2 wks) 

Total: 57.5 lbs

Avg: 2.3 lbs/wk

I am working toward being 268 next weigh in. That would be 60 lbs in 6 months. I am now at my lowest weight in 6 years. My 3 month follow up with my doctor is next week. I am not dreading the scale and the results. Now time to get ready for work and my work weigh in. There is just 2 more weeks after this for my work challenge. I do not think I am going to win the top prize for % lost but that is fine. Right now with 57.5 lbs gone I have lost 17.5% of my body weight.

Tonight is Water Aerobics. Tuesday the class was cut short because of weather. Even though we are an indoor pool they have to have us get out if there is thunder and lightning. We had been working out hard for 30 minutes and then: Everyone out of the pool! Wednesday was Pilates and I can tell I am getting stronger. I was able to hold table top. Next week I start Tai Chi again. This time on Monday night. The clothes I posted on cheapcycle for sale did not sell yet. I might take some more pictures and try Craigs List. Anyone have any good place online to sell clothing? 

Hope everyone has a great Friday and a fun filled weekend.

Warning: Brain Dump Ahead

Today's post is not going to have a theme or be centered on any one thing. I have a bunch of thoughts in my head and I am just going to write about them.

Yesterday I went through my closet and removed all the size 26 or 26/28 pants and capris. I ended up with 17 pairs of pants and 9 pairs of capris. Wow. I really did not think I had that many. One problem is that I would only wear the same things over and over again. I bought clothing because they kinda fit and then would not wear them because I really did not like what I got.  The closet looks a bit empty. I did fix that some with getting 3 pairs of capris from Avenue the other day. I had a good coupon and they had a sale. I have figured out I am firmly right now a size 22. 18/20 is too small and 22/24 is slightly too big. What I picked up is some 18/20 since I know I can get there soon. I have listed the pants on the local cheapcycle list and we shall see if I can sell them. If not they will go to goodwill.

 On Friday we got a new scale. It is a WW scale with a bunch of bells and whistles. It stores data for up to 4 people. The extras include measuring of % body fat, water, and bone mass. Oh yeah it also does BMI. I think the interesting thing was the bone mass. Not sure what the accuracy is like but it is stating that I am over on that. I have always said I am 'big boned'.


LM and I did go to the Y and tried out the bikes on Friday. We road about 10 minutes to get the feel of things. One bike was having a problem with keeping the seat locked. When the seat was at the lowest position I could not ride it. It put my knees in a bad position. The other problem is that it was really HOT out. We did not bring water/sunscreen/other stuff to deal with the heat. The big thing is that we know we can do it.

I got an email yesterday from Win Lose Blog stating that I was not chosen to compete in the next 7 week challenge.  It got me really bummed out and at one point I was doubting my blogging and even my weight loss. Then I thought about Skinny Emmie's most recent post: I do it for me. She hit the nail on the head with this one. I will be following Win Lose Blog and may even try again next season. I have the last 4 weeks of my work challenge and also working on my 100 hour challenge at the Y to work towards in the summer. The Beat the Heat challenge starts today but I do not have 5 goals set up. For those of you that are doing the Beat the Heat challenge would it be a problem to join 'late'?

Yesterday was food shopping and we ended with going to the Farmers Market. There was so much to choose from. We ended up with: new red potatoes, eggplant, cucumbers, and beans. YUM! Also fresh made pasta. That is for dinner/lunch today.

Brain dump complete! Now it is time to get some stuff done. Have a great 4th!

The Weigh In that Wasn't

Where is my cool graph you might be asking?

Here is the story of my weigh in morning:

I stepped on the scale this morning. Stepped off. Stepped on again. I repeated this about 10 times.I could not seem to get the same readout twice. It ranged from 271-274.  I even got an error message. I know the scale has been acting up so usually I step on 3 times and 2 of them are the same. I could not get 2 the same in a row to save my life this morning. I think I got 272.8 twice. I know some of it is because of our floor. We live in an old house and it is warped in places. Still if I do not move the scale it should in 3 times register the same thing at least twice. This inconsistency has been getting worse and worse. JD and LM have both commented on the problem. I am tired of my work weigh in for my challenge and my weight at the doctor registering lower than my home scale. I think fully clothed in the middle of the day would not show 2-3 lbs lighter than my morning weigh in.

This means at some point this weekend a new scale will be purchased! Any recommendations?

In other news I have a 1/2 day at work so LM and I are going to run errands during the day. The first one is going to the Y and signing up for the bike rentals. I want to try one out and just see if I can still ride. This will be done about 1pm, and then we will head out to do other errands. We will end back at the Y for water aerobics at 6pm. Wow, the Y twice in 1 day. I am not sure what other holiday weekend plans we have. Rest and relaxation for some of it I think. I also want to do a bike ride tomorrow morning.

What are your weekend plans?