And the results are in.

Yesterday was my 40th birthday and the date I had set for my goal to be at 250lbs. I did not make that goal but I am still very proud and happy.

My 40 week Recap

I have dropped about 4 clothing sizes. In January my 28/28s and were getting very tight. I really should have been moving to a 30/32. Now I am solidly a 22.

I have been taken off 2 medications and the other 2 have had the doses cut in half. To be perfectly honest I have not been taking the 2 meds regularly. I am testing my blood sugar at times and even with not taking the glucophage my numbers have been in the normal range. Heck last night at bowling I had a lot of sugar and before bed my blood sugar registered 108. This morning it was still 108. My knees are hurting and popping less. I still have some issues and may need to do something about it.

I have made exercise a habit. When I got back from vacation I did not work out much for about 3 weeks and I totally missed it. My request for my birthday was to have my gym membership paid for the next 3 months. That was the only thing I really really wanted. I love pilates and water aerobics. I even got a pass to take pilates at a different facility so I can do it twice a week. It also helped that they had a groupon. *grins*  I am still working on getting a good strength training program underway. Maybe for the holidays I will ask for personal training.

I think I will get my Y t-shirt for the 100 hour club next month. This means that since March I have worked out 100 hours.

I had earned enough points in 6 months to get payout with my work wellness program. Unfortunately my work decided to cancel the program they had for 2011. So no reward from work for 2011. They are starting a new program in 2012. It is going to be run by the health insurance company. It seems like the rewards are along the same line as what you can get from credit cards that do point programs.

I am happy in my own skin again. I can go the stairs and not feel like I am going to die. I do not circumnavigate a parking lot to get the closest space because it is hard to walk from the car to the store.

Oh yeah, I guess you might be wanting to know what the numbers ended up being. So here you go by the numbers:

Starting Weight: 328 lbs

Ending Weight:  270 lbs

Average 1.45 lbs/wk (40 weeks)

So where will I go from here. I am still thinking about changing the name of my blog. It is not about weight loss. It is more about my journey. Or more to the point my quests. I need to figure out how to get it done, but I am leaning toward YAPS about her quests. One of my quests is to be healthy. Another is to be happy. Heck I have a quest to blog more both here and a couple of other places. I plan to make another weight goal even though that is not the end all be all of this journey. I was going to say be at 225 by 2/25 since it sounds so COOL, but I might be setting myself up for disaster. It would be 45 lbs in 18 weeks. That would mean I would have to average 2.5 lbs/week during one of the more stressful and food filled times of the year. Not going to happen. My next idea which is the one I think I will go with is: 100lbs down (228) by day 100 (April 9th) in 2012. That would be 42 lbs in about 23 weeks. A more manageable number. I am probably going to change my weigh in to Mondays and set up a new ticker over the weekend.

Now it is time to get ready for work and get this day over with. Then the weekend!

I hope everyone has a healthy and happy day!

I am disappointed in myself

Today I walked for the Cure in Lexington Kentucky. There were so many people and it was a great time. Pretty cool because of the wind but a very nice day. No rain which was really nice.

The are a couple of different reasons why I am disappointed in myself.

- I have not been to the Y since before going on vacation (over a week ago)
- I have not been recording my food.
- I am mindless eating and getting trigger foods when shopping.

But. The biggest reason I am disappointed in myself is because I did not go for the 5K today. I stopped after 1 mile. I am just kicking myself for not going on. The reasons I stopped seem so minor. I was going at a good speed. I was feeling good. I had to go the bathroom slightly but nothing that could not wait. I basically scared myself out of going on.

I will put this behind me and move on. Next walk I will do the complete 5K.

Back from Vacation

I am back from my vacation to North Myrtle Beach. We had such beautiful weather. I was able to jump waves every day. I went for a 1.5 mile walk one morning. I kept myself covered in sunscreen so I did not get a burn. It was a great trip. I got some beautiful pictures of the sunrise one day. I lost money on the gambling cruise, but got to go out on the water in a boat. I can't wait to go back to the ocean or gulf. I ate some really good food and some not so tasty food. The car ride back yesterday was so long. I almost need a vacation now to recover from my vacation!

Now time to catch up on my blog reading and soon to head to work. Have a great week!

I have a waist!

Last picture update I mentioned that I could not see progress. Others could, but I just could not see it. But today a picture is worth 1000 words.  The 1st picture is from June 26th and the 2nd is from Sept 30th.

I really see a difference in my face and waist. My cheeks and double chin are not as pudgy. I can see daylight between my arms and side. I really think the Pilates is causing the change in my waist. As the muscles get toned/stronger the waist is becoming more defined. I think it is quite interesting that the previous pictures were 2 months and 20 lbs. (April-June) and I could not really see the progress. This time the pictures are 3 months and only 10lbs but I see major changes.

Tomorrow I am heading with my mom and stepdad to North Myrtle Beach for VACATION!! I am so excited. I plan to bring some healthy breakfasts and snacks. I know I will be eating out more and hope to not stress about it. I have checked out the pictures of the weight room at the hotel and it should be good. The closest Y is about 10 miles away in Myrtle Beach and charges $5/day so I am not sure if I will get to go. I did print out a class list just in case. There is also a facility in North Myrtle Beach but they have a $15/day rate.  I do not think that is worth it. I will be doing a bunch of wave jumping and hanging out in the ocean so that will be great exercise. I hope to get some pictures and maybe some will have me in them. (and not just my feet). I have noticed I am not as camera shy as I once was.

Hope everyone has a great week!