Week 3.1 Success

I'm dancing a victory dance that you will just have to imagine! What a great morning! #4 got cereal last night and slept through without even a fuss. Yippee! Sleep is a wonderful thing. That's not the only victory we're celebrating. Yes today I weighed in and am now at 249! Hurrah for me! I am out of the 250's. I know it's only one pound below, but a loss of 6 pounds is something to celebrate.

Since I started exercising, I have noticed that when I eat things that are heavy and greasy, that is exactly how I feel. We are really trying to eat more fresh and real food. Last night we had one of our favorite salads.
Here's the recipe:
1 can beans-Your choice I doubled this last night and had 1 can black, and 1 can kidney beans, but I have done it with pintos and it is equally good.
1 cup frozen corn, I put it in a colander and run cold water over it to thaw it
1 green bell pepper diced
1 large tomato diced, I used grape tomatoes diced, it just takes more
2 green onions diced
1 cup chopped chicken, I bought a rotisserie chicken and pulled out the breast and chopped them, you could use canned or leave it out
2 TBS ranch dressing

I mix it all in one bowl and serve it with tortilla chips. Most of my girls like it, and Patrick loves it. It makes me feel good to get in my veggies and some good fiber, and depending on the chips you use, some whole grain. It is fresh and yummy! In the winter we need some colorful food to take away the blahs.

As for my appointment yesterday, I found out my blood test results and everything looks good. My A1C came back at 6.4 which is great. I am working hard on my exercise and will start food journaling, now that I know what I need to eat. I am feeling great!

Today's Stats
Exercise-1 hour Taebo Fat Blasting workout-I have a new appreciation for "feel the burn"
Weight-249 WOO HOO!
Thanks for all the support!

Week 2.7 Last Day Of the Week

I know it's not the end of the week, but I started all this on a Thursday, so it's the end of my weigh in period. I know I am losing weight, but we'll see tomorrow what the numbers are. My pants are looser if nothing else.

It was hard to get going this morning. I did it though. Nothing is worth it without a little work. Right? I worked hard and I feel good, but tired. #4 needs to get started on cereal!

I have a visit with the Diabetes Nurse educator today, so we'll see what she has to say about my numbers. I am going to ask her more specifically about what meal plan she has in mind for me. I know I have to control my simple carb intake, but I'm curious about what she'll say. I tried to go to mypyramid.gov, but it says I am to overweight and need to contact a medical professional. Funny, I wonder of that's what National Health care will be like. "So sorry we can't help you because you don't fit into our criteria for care."

Today's Stats
Exercise-1 hour Dance your pants off
So, so, sleepy!

Week 2.6 DR. Visit

I had my Dr. visit today. Not too bad. I think it helped that I could tell him I was exercising an hour everyday. He seemed a bit surprised. I wonder why. Anyway, blood pressure was good, blood sugars aren't horrible, but more tests are to come. I have an appointment with the Diabetes Nurse Educator tomorrow.

I came home and did a few things then kicked my bootie into gear and went down to exercise. Something about already being dressed with my hair and make-up done makes me dread getting all sweaty. Oh well I did it anyway. I did my own workout today. I wanted to watch the PBS Masterpiece Classic-Emma. I started watching it Sunday night, but couldn't stay awake. So I did a combo of Richard Simmons dance moves and ball work while I watched. Kind of fun, but it seemed to take a lot longer than just doing the video. At least it's done. Now I can go on with my day!

Week 2 Catch Up

Oh boy! I really got busy this weekend. Friday I did level 2 of the Ball and Band workout. I really enjoyed a faster pace on the cardio, but wasn't quite ready for the tougher strength training. Saturday I tried to go get my blood work done, but there was some miscommunication and the lab wasn't open. So after driving 30 miles to get there, fasting, I was a bit frustrated and ate at Taco Bell, and got a shake from Dairy Queen. Am I possibly an angry eater? I didn't get my workout in, but went home and did some vigorous housework. I should mop the floor more often, I mean for exercise.

Sunday was my rest day, but after several hours of church lugging a 17 pound baby around, I think that should count for something. Today I was feeling a lot of lower back pain so decided to go for my Yoga DVD. It seemed to help a bit.

Now to get to the rest of my day. Tomorrow I have a DR appointment. It's at 7 am. Long story on that one. The point being I ended up with Patrick's appointment he set so it's a lot earlier than I like to get out of the house. The upside is that I will likely just have to move my exercise time a little later than usual.

Today's Stats
1 hour Yoga
Attitude-Healthy!

Week 2.1

Well the scale may not show it, but I feel better nonetheless. I am more flexible, more energetic, positive, and were it not for a wee little one, I would be sleeping a lot better too. All the positive rewards of exercise make it worth it.

I decided to go for an oldie but goodie exercise tape, yes tape, today. I did the Richard Simmons "Dance Your Pants Off". Wow! I had forgotten how much it made me work. Fun too! I just have to ignore a few individuals faces while I do it. A little too dramatic for my taste. The best part was that my blood sugar after exercise was 105. That's the lowest it's been in months. I will hopefully get my meds adjusted next week so that it will stay down.

I weighed in this morning and it wasn't any better than a few days ago. There could be many reasons for the gain, but I am choosing to not worry about it for now. I am sure that in the long run only good results will happen.

Today's stats
Weight-255
FBS-142
After EX-105
Exercise- 1 hour Dance Your Pants Off
Mood-Optimistic

Day 7 The Week comes to a Close

Talk about the day to end all days. I am tired of these negative days. Fooey! #4 was up many times in the night and I was supposed to go in early to get some fasting blood work done. Notice I said supposed to. We had some light rain this morning, but with the low temps it was freezing rain. I was finally ready to leave at about 8:30 and got the 2 youngest in the car.

Our garage door opener is broken, so I had to get out to close it. As I was getting out, the van started sliding down our drive. I quickly got back in and parked the van on a flatter surface. We were on our way, or so I thought. I couldn't go more than about 15 miles per hour the mile to the highway. When we got to the stop sign I could see 3 cars off the road. One of them a big fuel truck. I thought to myself, if he's not driving on this, I probably shouldn't. Just then a Sheriff drove by, and shortly after another 2 police officers and 2 tow trucks. Hmmmm...I called my sweetheart who was already at his DR appointment and decided to turn around. It took 5 tries and lots of spinning wheels to get the van back up the driveway. By this time it was after 9:30. It was such an ordeal, I felt completely exhausted. I made myself some breakfast, fed the baby, and took a nap.

So, I missed my exercise appointment, through no fault of my own. It was not a total loss though. After lunch my sweetheart came home early. By that time I was starting to get a migraine. Just another one of life's little gems. I took ibuprofen, got a shoulder rub and we went downstairs to watch TV. While we were watching, I was bouncing on my exercise ball. So in a way I still got in my activity for the day.

Then we got the kids to bed. I hadn't felt much like eating earlier, so I made a late dinner of Chicken tenders with Citrus Salsa. Yum! The pictures all came out blurry, but I posted it anyway. Here's the recipe for the salsa.

Citrus Salsa
Orange Segments and juice
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Green Onions
2 Tablespoons chopped parsley
Lemon juice to your liking I used about 2 or 3 Tablespoons
kosher salt

I am not a fan of sweet sauces on meat. This is not sweet, it is very tangy and super refreshing. I love it! Thanks Giada.

Today's Stats
Exercise 30 minutes ball bouncing
One safe family!
Tomorrow- Weigh in day!

Day 6! GRRRR

Today I am feeling a bit dissenchanted. I really did not want to get up and going this morning. My whole right side hurts. I have a nerve pinched somewhere, and it hurts from my neck to my heel. However!! I have made a promise to myself, so I got up and got my shoes on. I did my Ball and Band workout, minus the squats. I just kept the cardio going.

The thought occurred to me that maybe if I weighed early it would motivate me to keep going. Boy was I wrong! I'm up 2 or 3 pounds. I think the Womenly woes are coming, or as we affectionately call them "the woes". I hope that is the reason for the gain. Although I have not been denying myself the things I want to eat, I don't think it's been all that horrible. I guess it's time to start journaling my food, even though I dread it with all my heart.

Ugh!
Todays stats
No FBS
1 hour Ball and Band workout
Mood-Currently Lousy, but Optomistic!

Days 4&5

Day 4 was Sunday, so it was restful right? Mostly anyways. I taught a lesson to the ladies at church. I thought it went well. We talked about our talents, and how we could use them in serving our Heavenly Father. Then I went home and took a much needed nap.

Day 5-Today!
I was a little worried about my exercise appointment today. It's always hard for me to start fresh when I have had a break. Granted it was only one day, but still difficult. To make things harder, the girls don't have school today for Martin Luther King Jr's birthday. So I didn't have to get up early to get them on the bus. I have an alarm set to go off everyday at 7:55 am as a reminder for myself. #4 was up at 4 am to eat, so I was asleep when the alarm went off. I did not want to get up, but #4 was ready to eat again, so I didn't really have a choice. I fed her and got my shoes on.

I decided to do Turbo Jam Cardio Party today for something different. I enjoyed it, but it seemed to hurt my knees and back a bit more than the ball workout. Maybe I'll just do it occasionally for variety. Three more days until weigh in!

Todays Stats
FBS 149
Exercise 1 hour Turbo Jam Cardio Party, plus Ball Cool Down

Day 3

I feel much more flexible already. Only 3 days of working out and I can move much more easily than last week. I decided to have my workout each day of the week including Saturday, with Sunday as a day of rest. Today I was a little late because Little Miss #4 wanted to eat at 8. Since I am still nursing I figured it would be better to just feed her for the 20 minutes instead of trying to soothe her for the hour that I workout. It worked well she went back to sleep and I got to go downstairs without worry. My Sweetheart was planning on working out at the same time, but I got there first, so I got the TV. I am so proud of him. He did his Taebo workout without the video in another area so I could stick to my goal. What a good man!

I could really feel the burn today. To start with, I was going a bit slower than the video, but now that I know the routine better I can keep up, and boy does it kick my bootie.

Just a small thought on sabotage. I don't really feel the need for snacks and desserts if I don't see them. If they are in my house I will find them and consume them freely. A few weeks ago, I made some peanut butter chocolate truffles, and had half of them still in my fridge. When I got that sweet urge yesterday, out came the truffles. I ate what I wanted and the kids disposed of the rest. No more sabotage. I think that's the last of the junk in the house. I know there are a few Halloween leftovers, and a few chocolate stocking stuffers, but those or portionable.
I love the feeling of guiltless eating. I know they are not the best choices, but guilt does nothing to improve my health. It may take me longer to burn off the calories, but that is the whole point of exercising each day right?!

Today's Stats
FBS 153
Exercise 1 hour ball and band workout
BS after EX-130
Breakfast-Oatmeal with frozen berries-Yum!

Day 2

Ow, ow, ow...I kept my appointment even though #4 was up at 12, 3, and 5. It's time for her own room. She did however sleep through my workout. Yippee.

Today's Stats
FBS-150 (Fasting Blood Sugar)
Exercise- 1 hour ball and band workout
Breakfast-Berry and yogurt smoothie.

My goals-110 pound loss, defined muscles, blood sugar control without meds.

Day One!

For many years now I have been overweight. I don't want to be so anymore. I am a beautiful person inside and I want that to shine on the outside too. Why post it all on a blog? Accountability! I am not perfect nor do I think I have all the answers, but I am ready to make a change in my life. For a long time I wasn't ready. Not ready to give up my favorite indulgences, not ready to exercise, not ready to commit to anything. Well today is day one!

I have made a few discoveries in my attempts to lose the pounds.

1-Everything is Spiritual before temporal. (Doctrine and Covenants 29:31-35) I know that my Heavenly Father loves me and wants me to be happy, so He will help me with this. When my physical body is in line with God's laws, then I will be able to accomplish my goal.

2-I am super time sensitive. I hate being late. I calendar all appointments. I watch the clock constantly. So I decided to make an appointment with myself. Everyone else gets their due time, why not me? So everyday at 8 am I have an appointment to be physically active for an hour.

3-Woman cannot shrink by diet alone. I don't know why it never occured to me before that I don't have to give up the things that I love if I exercise. The math is pretty simple. If I take in more calories than I use, it gets stored as fat. If I use more calories than I take in, the fat gets burned up. Duh!

4-Inspiration and Motivation are unneccesary. What you say. Well according to another blogger, you just do it. There's no reason for notes and rewards. The rewards are obvious. I get to live to raise my children. The motivation is already there too. It's called get off your duff and do it. http://www.344pounds.com/

So to sum it all up, I will be checking in on a regular basis with my stats and goals.

Today's stats

Weight 252

Fasting Blood sugar 163

Exercise 1 hour ball and band, Cardio and strength training