Tips for eliminating Soda

When I was at my highest weight, 315 to 330 pounds, I was drinking a lot of soda.  When I say a lot, I really do mean a lot! I could easily go a day...a week and even a month with drinking nothing but soda. I know, not healthy at all! Just as an example, at one point when I was working at a job and I would get a bottle of Pepsi when I arrived, I would get one on my first break, my lunch break, and also my last break. That is four bottles of soda in an eight hour work shift.  That doesn’t even include what I drank at home!!  When I first started losing weight way back before I even wrote my first post on this blog, I gave up regular soda. It was amazing how quickly I dropped weight with that one minor change. That truly was the easiest pounds I’ve ever lost.

When I was in my early 20s, I decided that I needed to buy a new car (new car to me that is). I did not want to have a car loan. Therefore, I decided that I would save for a year or two and pay cash for a car. My method involved working two jobs(Substitute teaching during the day and waitressing every evening and weekend.) And I cut back on expenditures. One of the things that I looked at was how much money I was spending on Soda...a lot!  That quickly came up on the chopping block as an expense saving measure. At that point even though I was overweight, cutting out the soda had nothing to do with weight… It was all money.   Somewhere along the way though, I figured out that soda was just not the healthiest option.  One of my very early posts was a comparison between water and coke.  So I eventually figured out that for my health it was an important switch (and hey...the money savings is still awesome!)

I have toyed around with different aspects of eliminating soda in my life.   Many times it has crept back into my life eventually.   At one point I went from a heavy soda drinking lifestyle down to straight water as my only drink. At one point I went from regular soda to diet soda. I’ve also dropped from diet soda down to water.  Each time  I’ve tried different tricks and methods to make the process smoother and ultimately easier. I figured it was time to share some of those tricks and methods that I have utilized. Like always, take what you want, use whatever ideas and tips work for you, and remember that what works for one person doesn’t work for everyone.

1. Retrain the taste buds slowly.  One of the earliest problems I encountered was the taste.  Water was totally unappetizing to me.  I had no interest in water.  In fact I readily said I hated water!  With water being so un-appetizing, I went out and bought Kool-Aid packets. I bought the kind where you add your own sugar. The first 2 L containers that I made and subsequently drank were made with full sugar added. Sure, I missed the carbonation, but with the flavor and sugar  it wasn’t so bad. Slowly, over the following weeks I started to reduce the amount of sugar in my Kool-Aid. Eventually, I was only drinking water with a  Kool-Aid packet added and no sugar added. At that point it was a very easy jump to go from flavored Kool-Aid with no sugar to just straight up water. It took a while to eliminate sugar in a way that was easy and painless. But it worked really well and never again after that did I say that water was unappetizing.
2.  Caffeine headaches. If you are drinking a lot of soda, you’re most likely going to suffer some kind of caffeine withdrawal. For me it wasn’t so much the lack of energy that some people drink their caffeine for. My withdrawal has always been headaches. I have battled this one almost every time I slip back into drinking soda and then go back to more water-based in my drinking diet. For me the headache kicks in  about 36 hours after I drink my last caffeinated drink. It lasts for about 2 to 5 days. There are a couple ways you can deal with this headache. The first is to just Suck it up and just deal with the headache for a couple days.  If that doesn’t work, arm yourself with Advil or Tylenol. You can lesson the headaches by Tapering your caffeine consumption so that you get used to the lower levels.  Next, you can definitely Utilize other sources of caffeine… Coffee or tea name two of the most common ones.  In terms of The lack of energy without caffeine, get lots of sleep, eat healthy nutritious foods and know that the lack of energy will pass.
3.  I touched on this point in the section where I wrote about how to combat caffeine headaches/withdrawal. Drink other substituted drinks. Tea is a very good choice… Unsweetened tea that is (if your doing this to cut sugar).  This one, was never a good option for me because I don’t like tea or coffee.  For me the other choices were just as bad as the soda.
4. At one point, the caffeine had crept back into my life and I decided that I would be OK with drinking diet soda.  I was only looking at calories and not overall health at that point. Going from regular soda to diet soda was huge for me. Diet soda, to me at least, tasted really nasty. At that point though, I didn’t feel as if I had the willpower to drop Caffeine/soda completely. I had to retrain myself and my taste buds. First of all, I vowed that I would only drink diet. I quickly figured out that making the switch while I was eating was the easiest. When I drank the first couple glasses, I remember actually saying oh my word this is nasty and making crazy faces of pure disgust. But when I drank it with my food I wasn’t as focused on the flavor of the drink as much as I was the flavor of the food. So, slowly my taste buds changed. It didn’t take very long at all, maybe a week but the taste of the diet soda became the common norm for me. This also worked once when I was going from soda down to nothing.
5. There have been two different times  in my life where I have made the change from soda to not soda (or from regular soda to diet soda) while on vacation. I think this works really well because you’re already out of your norm. You’re not fighting the habits that are set in your life. I decided to drop diet soda once and for all as an every day drink a few years back during a vacation. I went prepared with Advil, and a full case of water in the car. I looked at it as a challenge. I allowed myself lemonade and other such drinks that I may normally eschew due to the sugar content… And it made me feel absolutely decadent and the decadence made me not miss the diet soda at all.

6. I have very limited success with ‘just cutting back’.  However it is an option out there.  Many times I have set the rule of ‘finish my water first’ and then I can have the soda.   This in theory is great.  But it opens the door for lots of slip ups.  For me, this is exactly what happens!

Where does this leave me right now?   I am mostly soda free.   I may grab one during the weekend.  Occasionally if I’m having a day where I feel as if I’m dragging I will grab a soda.  But for the most part I am straight up water...or at the very least, water with flavoring.

It really all boils down to making the decision to drop the soda habit and either tapering, substituting or going cold turkey.   I have done all of them.   I have gone months and years without any soda.  It really is a personal choice on how each person approaches this.  

6.  I have very limited success with ‘just cutting back’.  However it is an option out there.  Many times I have set the rule of ‘finish my water first’ and then I can have the soda.   This in theory is great.  But it opens the door for lots of slip ups.  For me, this is exactly what happens!

Really it all boils down to making the decision to drop the soda habit and either tapering, substituting or going cold turkey.   I have done all of them.   I have gone months and years without any soda.  It really is a personal choice on how each person approaches this.  

My current love/hate state I. Regards to soda is pretty healthy....I think.  Typically I drink only water.  On the weekends I usually splurge and drink a diet soda.  On a really rare occasion if I’m just really struggling at work with a day that just feels heavy, slow and tiring; I will go down to the cafeteria and pick up a diet soda.   I’m not addicted.  I’m not reliant.  I’m in a healthy place in regards to it!

Idyllic, I think not!

Well here we are back at Monday!   Why can’t the weekend be longer.  My treat of a three day weekend went by just as fast as a typical two day weekend!   The weekend was a good one on a lot of levels.  I was somewhat active.  I saw family. We relaxed and I even had some revelations about weight loss and how the first time around losing weight was so easy and well...idyllic!

Idyllic Memories

As I have gained weight and faught to restart and maintain this weight loss journey, I have sat back and wished for the picture perfect bubble that surrounded me when I lost weight the first time to reappear.  I look back and it just was easy!  I lost a bit...started my blog...joined weight watchers and then snapped my fingers and the weight was gone in a reasonable period of time.  I have lamented this fact over the years, not because it was so easy then....but because it’s SO HARD now! What changed?  

I figured out what changed and I figured it out quite by accident.  When I started my blog I wrote for me. It was my ‘journal’ and I didn’t label/tag ANYTHING!  As I write my posts now-a-days I remember posts that I wrote that go hand in hand with what I’m writing... but finding them amidst 12.5 years of writing and more than 2000 posts is a daunting task.   So my current mission is to reread and label much of what I wrote for ease in recall.   I started at the beginning.  It was truly just a journal back then...and some days were really ‘dry’.  I have found some awesome nuggets of information though. But more importantly, even though I have only made it through a very small segment thus far...I have seen a TRUE picture of my weight loss journey when I ‘did it the first time’.  Let me tell you, it wasn’t the idyllic experience that my apparently faulty memory had created.

A brief rundown.  In bullet point to make it easy.

**Before I began the blog I had weight somewhere between 315 and 330 pounds.   I gave up soda and dropped mad pounds immediately. I got down to around 250.   At that point I started writing on here.  (At least that’s my memory of that period!)

**the first few months of this blog, I battled my way down to 225 pounds...on my own, but then regained back to 250.

**I joined weight watchers.  My descent down the scales started again.  However my memory that told me that I lost consistently through my weight sojourn at weight watchers?   Faulty!  The first weeks were consistent losses, but in reality it was a crawl, brawl and a battle that lasted for more than two years before I reached my weight watcher goal.  I sat stalled and had to reset and restart myself while on weight watchers.  I had bad weeks amidst the good ones.   

My memory of that ‘idyllic weight loss’ were totally faulty!   Thank heavens I started writing my experiences!  The early posts may be somewhat dry...but they were just what I needed.  The idyllic myth has been busted!  Maybe now I can settle into the slow process of weight loss and stop lamenting that it isn’t as ‘easy’ as the first time around.

Panic

I was starting to really get worried.  My trusty Kitchen Aid mixer was starting to give me grief.  I have a tilt top/head and the bowl was not locking into place.  Therefore, if I used the mixer for anything other than an easy stir (meaning no fast and nothing ‘stiff’) the bowl would wobble and fly off the base.  NOT GOOD!   I’ve been struggling with it for a few weeks. But this weekend Jason walked into the kitchen while I was fighting with it.  He looked at it and said ‘It’s eaither the base of the mixer, which looks replaceable or your bowl.’  He lamented the fact that I don’t have another bowl to test it.  I just grinned and dig deep into the cabinet above the fridge and pulled out my second bowl.  What do you know?  The other bowl works perfectly and looks tightly into place!   What a relief!   But boo....I’m back down to one bowl!  Guess I’ll be shopping soon for another bowl.

The weekend

On Friday I did the grocery shopping, had lunch with some of my favorite people (my mom, my sister in law, my niece and my nephews).  And I spent some time editing and reworking a few things on my ‘year of online dating’ chronicles.    I am planning on publishing it.  My working title is ‘Frog or prince: Adventures in online dating”. I figure it is just sitting there completed in my files.  Why not publish!  (I have a few other things out there that I have worked on over the years that I will probably work on getting published in some form in the future after frog/prince.  That will clean up  up my files and I can share some of the stuff that I have worked on over the years.)

On Saturday, we ran to the zoo and walked for a few hours.

And then we went for a bike ride on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. 

It was hot and those two outdoor activities wiped us out...and filled our day!

On Sunday we chose to have a lazy day.  We did run to my mom's to pick up a few of the things that were still there.  The one thing was my headboard and my bed frame.  For numerous reasons, we decided to use my headboard.  I love it for one....but also because my brother made it (he is a professional woodworker) and I love him!   And my bed frame doesn't have a footboard and neither of us like footboards.....and the frame we have been using (Jason's) has a footbaord.   So we went and got mine and brought it to our new place.  I then took the other bed frame/headboard/footboard down and put it in storage and set up the new bed.  (same mattress and box springs). Other than that, we had a nice lazy day of hanging out and binging on movies!

It’s ok until: My new weigh in/scales plan

This hasn’t been a crazy exciting week for me.   It hasn’t been a mind blowing week in terms of weight loss.  However, I have been thinking about some stuff in terms of weighing myself.  I’ve also been thinking a lot about some other things in terms of ideas.  

Weigh in

First of all let’s talk about what the scales said for my official Friday Weigh in.  I wasn’t expecting awesome things.  My weight has been hovering at a higher (like two to three pounds higher).   I didn’t eat crazy this week to warrant it though!  I didn’t go overboard on anything this work week.  But I just wasn’t seeing the scales move.   To add to my low expectations?  On Thursday I actually missed my water intake goal. By a LOT!  I only finished two bottles of water and that was it!  That’s not even 40 oz!   So yeah, not expecting great things.   So I was really shocked to see 246.8 on the scales this morning!   I’ll take it.  

Exercise for the week

I did walk on my breaks at lunch.  Every day.  And I even managed short walks on my 15 minute breaks!

Scales

The scales have long had a hold on me.  I weigh every day and just recently I started to drown in the numbers  .  I made some changes that seemed to work a bit...and in honesty even brought some of the excitement in getting my weekly official weight on those official days.   But this week I  read a few blogs this week and two different people (sorry I can’t remember who, it wasn’t until a few days later that the words really sunk in and made an impression upon me) wrote about how they are trying to not obsess about the scales and how they are ok with a range of numbers.  They made me really think!  And what I realized is that it sounded like it lined up with the plan I am working.   I am determined to live my life and not be so worried about every little bite.  My plan? I want to be able to have a piece of cake here and  there and to not worry about the ice cream indulgence on a hot summer day.  So that said, I should expect my weight to fluctuate somewhat.   So I’m going to start trying to think in terms of ‘never more than 3 pounds from my lowest (recent) weight.’   So this week my lowest weigh in recently was 246.6.  So my ‘it’s ok until’ number right now is 249.6.    When I see a lower number on the scales..let’s say 244.2. Then my ‘it’s ok until’ number is 247.2.   Three pounds.   This is NOT a foreign concept to me.  This was my maintenance mode plan that I was going to follow when I reached my weight watchers goal weight.  I just lost control too quickly back then!   So in theory if I’m practicing this action now, I’ll be better prepared to maintain when I reach my goal!!    I know I will still weigh in every day.  It keeps me focused on pushing forward.  But this plan of ‘it’s ok until’ will help keep me from those little bobbles upward that are disheartening....at least that’s the theory.  

Weekend beginnings

I am off work today.  I know my eating will be a bit higher as I’m going to lunch with my mom, sister in law, niece and nephews. And to add to that, Friday night is pizza and wings night here at the Jason/Maryfran mansion!    I’m up and showered early.  I’m planning on getting the groceries done early. And maybe working on a few things on my computer.  I have been editing some writing and I have also been going back and rereading old posts and labeling those old posts so I can find them more easily.  (I didn’t tag old posts back when I wrote them, so when I want to link something it takes me forever to read through a gazilkion posts to find what I want.)

Mary’s Success Story

I started to comment back and forth with Mary on our respective posts.  Very quickly I realized that she has attained success at weighty loss and at maintaining.  I immediately knew I wanted to highlight her story!  She very graciously agreed to share her story and her success.

What sparked you to begin to lose weight??  

To be honest, I was always a good weight until the last few years before my retirement.  As work became more and more stressful, my co-workers and I turned to food.  I ate enormous fatty breakfasts, huge lunches, a huge dinner.  I rounded out my day with unhealthy snacks morning, noon, and night.  My husband kept telling me that I was getting heavy, but I didn't care.  I suffer from osteoarthritis, and walking was becoming more and more difficult.  I couldn't go a block without losing my breath or leaning on a pole because I was in so much pain.  However, I just couldn't believe, or didn't want to believe that my weight was causing this.  Then one morning I was getting ready for work and I sneezed.  I felt a pain like I had never felt before.  It takes a lot for me to go to an emergency room, but that morning I called in sick and headed to the nearest ER.  It turns out that I had pulled a muscle in my back, but when they took my blood pressure it hurt so bad that I begged them to stop.  That's when the doctor told me my blood pressure was very high--193/135--and that I had to start taking better care of myself, and the first step would be losing weight.

 What was your highest weight?   Current weight?  I was 223 pounds at my highest.  I am now 169 pounds.

 How much weight have your lost in pounds? 

 I have lost 54 pounds in all.. 

 What was your starting clothing size?  Your current size? 

My starting clothing size was 3X.  I now wear XL.  

  

What plan did you follow to lose your weight?  (ie weight watchers, slim fast, a plan of your own creation...) When I first started losing I used the Dash Diet to control my blood pressure.   I bought all kinds of spices to flavor my foods and used no salt.  Then, after I retired I started attending Weight Watchers and have been attending ever since. 

Have you reached your weight loss goal?  

  Yes, I have reached the goal that is on record.  I would like to lose a few more pounds, but that doesn't look likely.  

Do you consistently track your food intake (via online or paperform) 

No.  I'm good tracking my food for a week or so, then I stop.  I don't know why.  The Weight Watchers site has made it so easy, and I do very well when I track.

How often do you weigh yourself?  How did you come to that choice for how often?  

I am weighed every Thursday at my meeting.  Since I reached goal, I only have to weigh in once a month.  I am beginning to realize, though, that I need that I need that scale to keep me on track.

What online tools do you use? 

I use the Weight Watcher e-tools.  Although I don't track regularly, I use the site to check out the points on recipe I am making or to help me keep on track when we go out to eat.

 Do your exercise regularly?  If so, what do you do?  I do a lot of walking.  My union also offers its retirees free classes, so twice a week I attend Qigong and Line Dancing.  No formal exercise at a gym even though I have a Silver Sneakers pass and can attend for free.

What products do you use/can't live without/recommend?

  I don't use any weight loss products, but I do use a lot of spices.  I still keep my diet low on salt so I spice up everything I cook.  I especially love hot and spicy foods.  I understand, too, they are good for weight loss.

Do you have any words of advice for someone that is just starting out on this journey of weight loss and health?  

Don't give up.  It can be very frustrating at times.  I hit a plateau that lasted a little over a year.  I was only a few pounds to goal, and I just could not shed them.  Many times I felt like giving up and expressed this to my leader.  Her advices was, "The check is in the mail".  Indeed she was right.  One day I stepped on that scale and it moved.  It really moved!  

Is there anything else you would like to share?  

As I stated, when I first started I couldn't go a block without stopping.  Now I have gone 16 blocks and more without losing my breath or suffering pain.  I still take medication for my blood pressure, but unlike before when it remained high despite medication, it now stays down pretty much in normal range.

Thank you very much for sharing your weight loss success story!   You have shown  and reminded me that weighty loss is doable and takes perseverence!  You look fantastic!!!!!!

If you are interested in more success stories and more inspiration, you can check out Donna’s ongoing success story!

The Burmuda Triangle of Weight loss: give up or truck on?

Happy Monday!  This weekend was a pivotal one for me in my weight loss journey.  I had some decisions to make and some actions to take that could have gone either way.  My actions over this past weekend made an utter difference in the immediate future of my weight loss journey.  Who so many ‘big decisions’?  It’s because I entered the ‘Bermuda Triangle of Weight Loss’ 

Bermuda Triangle of Weight Loss

Yes, I am in the Bermuda triangle of weight loss.   In case you somehow don’t know,  the Bermuda Triangle is a region in the northern Atlantic Ocean where a number of ships and airplanes have been said to have mysteriously disappeared. It’s the ‘dreaded’ place that people like to avoid....but sometimes you have to go through that region..and you either come through that region strong or, well....you mysteriously disappear.    I am in the Bermuda Triangle stage of Weight loss.   What in the world am I talking about?  I am talking about the stage of weight loss where this journey is no longer a new and novel experience.  It has become very real.  There may have been some success at the beginning of the  healthy lifestyle changes but the ho hum aspect of living these healthy changes each and every day has just hit.  For that first period of time we are gung ho and it doesn’t bother us to give up that extra piece of pizza, or slice of cake.  We don’t mind the absence of chips as a snack before bed.  We are strong.   But there will come a time when the strength wavers.  That is when we enter the ‘Bermuda Triangle of weight loss’.  What am I talking about?  I’m talking about that moment when we have to decide if we are going to throw in the towel and mysteriously disappear from the great quest toward weight loss and health or if we are going to steam straight through that rough patch of time  and come out in the other side stronger and still flying strong on this weight loss journey.   

For me the Bermuda Triangle of weight loss has historically  hit about 2-3 weeks into one of my many restarts .  It usually comes about when my strength wavers and I slip back into my old routines and habits. And looking at it honestly, I think sometimes it slips because I see a gain on the scales for my official gain.  I am usually pretty good about seeing daily fluctuations, but I HATE when I see a gain for my official  weekly weigh in....and if I want to face the truth, I almost always see a gain at least one week a month (thanks to female monthly ick!). So many times after a restart, I let that stupid gain send me straight into the ‘Bermuda Triangle’ of weight loss.  And just like the real Bermuda Triangle, it is uncertain if I will survive or if I will disappear from this journey.

I had the monthly gain last week for my official weigh in on Friday morning. (And in fairness ice cream through the heat wave may have played a part in that number..but I had stayed within my calorie count goal so I didn’t deserve a gain!) and I entered the ‘Bermuda Triangle’ over the weekend.    On Friday morning I seriously wanted to give up.  A gain  is so disheartening.  Disheartened, I didn’t even  pack my healthy lunch for work on Friday.  I said ‘To heck with it, I’m eating in the cafeteria for lunch...especially since it is supposed to rain and that affects my lunch time walk!’   I didn’t pack my lunch...but luckily on the drive to work I came to my senses and rememberrd how badly I want to have success!   As soon as I parked I pulled up myfitnesspal on my phone (that’s where I track my daily calories) and immediately entered in my food for the day.  We order pizza every Friday night so I knew what we were eating.  I knew  what I usually get at the cafeteria....so it was easy.  I finagled and worked it and if I ignored the chips in the cafeteria...and my after work snack (which I want to eliminate that habit anyway)  I would be ok with a cafeteria lunch and the pizza!  And maybe..just maybe I would be able to have a wee bit of ice cream if I kept everything under control!   I resisted the chips at lunch...it was hard.  The habit is to get a bag of chips ...and they push the meal  deal to add chips to your sandwich.   I stuck with the lower calorie sandwich, even though the chicken salad looked delicious...turkey was my choice.  I did it!   Victory!  Next up was the snack after work.  I didn’t beat it TOTALLY.  I had a half of a Pringle chip.  No...not a half of a serving...or a half of a can.  I ate a half of a chip!!!   VICTORY!!!!  I put my mind to it and kept sailing straight through the Bermuda Triangle of weight loss.   

Next up?  The rest of the weekend....but I smashed that too!   I ate wisely and even went running, hiking and biking!   I came through it feeling stronger, more empowered and ready to continue this journey.  The Bermuda Triangle of weight loss didn’t claim a victim this time!!!

Running

I stepped outside my door on Saturday morning decked out in my running clothes.  The temperature hit me immediately. Blessed coolness!   I have been running in hot humid weather but today the temperature was 63 and super low humidity (yeah, I pulled up the temp before I started my run!). It felt fabulous!   It felt so fabulous that I pushed myself and did an extra mile and explored a new neighborhood!  Go me!

Weekend Shenanigans

As I mentioned earlier, the  weather was delightful this weekend!!!!  High temperature in the low 80’s and low humidity  (as compared to the recent heat of the upper 90’s with high humidity).  As soon as we saw the forecast for the weekend we vowed that  we would try to get out and be as active as possible to enjoy the weather.....so how did we do???  On Saturday we ran our errands and headed out with our bikes. We rode until we could ride no further...then we turned around!

No, we didn’t turn when our legs could go no further...we turned when we came upon a bridge that was out blocking our path. (Top picture is a side view of the bridge that is out, the bottoms picture is from the path where the path drops away!). No to be clear...there was caution tape blocking the drop off.....I was up against that.  And there may or may not have been ‘area closed’ signs on the towpath at earlier points  that I may have ignored!  Even with the earlier turn around than expected, we managed to get a nice ride in...a nice ten miles that we referred to as our ‘warm up’ for Sunday!

We got home and had a picnic dinner (hot dogs...buffalo meat, baked beans and corn on the cob.) food cooked on charcoal...delicious!  Or maybe it is the fact that my body had worked out...and food after working out is always sooo much tastier!

On Sunday I did not run in the morning.  This was a calculated decision. On Saturday we had vowed to do something more significant...and I wanted to save my legs to be fresh for whatever we decided to do.    So we left the house and first up was a trip to REI.  Jason wanted to try on the Five Ten mountain bike shoes   We didn’t find his size,so we will be ordering them online.   From there we headed off to do some reconnaissance on a mountain bike trail.badically we wanted to see if it was doable on my ‘non-mountain’ bike....a comfort bike.  We chose the 4 mile trail to check out.  It was good to get out there and hike(hiking is allowed on this trail). 

The berries were ripe for the picking!!!  And we did stop and indulge in berries along our hike.  These ripe berry hikes are so much fun!!!

It was a good time...even though my one foot was aching like crazy on Sunday evening!  And for the record, the trail is ‘mostly doable’ on current bike.  I will have to walk a few places but overall I think I can handle it.

New habits: eliminate the bad and add the good!

Another one bites the dust....week that is!  Thank heavens it’s Friday!  Woohoo!  Bring on the weekend! This week I focused on building some healthy habits.   I also got in some mid week exercise.  We had a mid week holiday which meant time off work!  It was really hot this week, and that brought about some splurges of ice cream....so my weight...well....we will get there.   Let’s  just say that in the grand scheme of things I’m going to call it a good week!

Habits

Habits, wow I could write forever about routines and habits.   We all have them.  I do.   My morning routine is exactly the same every day.  I wake up, go to the bathroom, lay out my clothes for the day, go back to the bathroom, turn on the water, weigh myself, shower....same exact order every single day!  That routine/habit isn’t a bad thing.  It is early and I am sometimes half asleep, so the habit is good. But sometimes we have habits that are not so good.  I have written about the sweet treat every night habit that I somehow picked up.  That’s not such a good one!  And I have managed to break the every night routine of getting something sweet....I still indulge but not every night as a rule.

Somehow when I took away the sweet treat habit, I picked up a ‘after work snack’ habit. Usually it’s Cheetos or chips so nothing remotely healthy!  Yeah I jumped right from the frying pan into the fire!  This is a bad habit that I am trying to break.  I have been working in baby steps to eliminate bad habits and begin good habits.  I have worked to combat the closet eating gorge-fest that I was having while Jason was in the shower. Talking to him and letting him know that I do closet eat helped, as does putting my snack into a bowl and leaving the kitchen.  So that was a break in the routine and a change of a habit.   That’s a victory!   But next up is breaking that snack after work routine.  I don’t REALLY need a snack!  Stay tuned for another victory as I break that habit!

The daily multivitamin habit that I started a few weeks ago is going well.  I do not believe that I have missed any day as of yet!  It has become part of my mindless morning routine!  VICTORY!

The next habit to work on has been begun!   A few months ago Jason and I talked about upper body strength and core strength.  We vowed to do push ups and planks every night.  I remembered for two...maybe three nights before I totally forgot!   It was an utter failure. Fast forward to last weekend.  I saw an article about planks.  I decided it was time to try to rebuild this habit/routine.  I immediately linked the article to my Facebook page and did something else that was bound to make me successful.   I set an alarm on my phone, set to go off each and every evening.  I tried to chose a good time that I wouldn’t be eating dinner, or cooking dinner, or already wiped out and half asleep.  And each night when that alarm has gone off I’ve gotten up off the couch and done my planks..standard, side and even some push ups.   My core strength and arm strength is weak...but that is bound to change!!!  Building healthy habits!!

Heat and weigh in

As I mentioned earlier, we have been in high heat and high humidity weather.   That makes me want ice cream!!!  It makes me want cold stuff!   So I have indulged  a few times.  This has affected my weigh in. It wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but I definitely didn’t do as well as I wanted!  I weighed in this morning at......

 That said, it’s been hot and while I’ve been drinking lots of water, I wake up thirsty....which tells me I still need more water!  And of course the monthly female ick has come and that causes water retention for me also.  So I’m not going to stress my weigh in this week!

Fourth of July Holiday

We had the Fourth of July holiday mid week.  That meant a day off of work for both of us.   It was hot. We stayed inside for much of the day.  However, we really wanted to do ‘something’ so we did drag ourselves out into the heat for a bit.  What did we chose to do? We went to the Monocacy Battlefield.  We enjoyed the nice cool visitor center and museum.  They have some walking trails that we decided to forego until the fall. (We now live close to this battlefield, so doing the trails this fall is not out of the realm of true possibility.). We opted for the driving tour instead.  We did get out of the car at each location to walk around a bit...

It was hot and a when we finished the car tour we hightailed it home to our wonderfully cool apartment!  It was a good way to spend a hot holiday!

Donna’s Success Story

Donna’s Success Story is one of perseverance and willpower.   She had battled her weight and been highly successful.  She has also learned lessons the hard way, with a regain.  At the beginning of this year she took a good look at where she was and decided to make some changes in her diet and lifestyle and she is living proof that if you want to lose weight and are willing to put in the effort that weight loss success is possible.

I met Donna many years ago through my blog as we both worked to lose weight. We communicated for a while simply via the comments section but then eventually though email.  It was a good day when I finally got to meet this amazing woman that I call my friend.  We had a fabulous time riding our bikes together at an organized ride that first weekend , and we have managed to hook up a few times since then (definitely not often enough!). Donna has been at one time or another my confidant, my accountability partner, my bike buddy, my sounding board,  a shoulder to cry on and most recently my inspiration....but most importantly she is my friend. 

Here is a picture of Donna and I at that very first meeting.  (As a reference point, I believe we both weighed right around 210-215 pounds)

What sparked you to begin to lose weight?? 

      THIS time I started the year out having to pay almost $500 for one months supply for ONE of three injectibles I take for type 2 diabetes.  Since I have a fairly high deductible with my insurance, the medications I was taking for my type 2 diabetes as well as for high blood pressure and cholesterol were costing me a small fortune!  It took several months to meet my deductible and even now it costs about $200 a month, out of pocket, for my medications.  Since I plan to retire at the end of the year, I started to try and think of ways to reduce some of my bills.  One way was on the car insurance for my car since I no longer put many miles on my car. The next one was my medications.  The insurance is taken care of and as of my June Endocrinologist appointment I was able to get off of one of my insulins, thus far.

 What was your highest weight?  Current weight?  Highest weigh that I can remember was 305 pounds,  Current weight as of this morning is 188.8 pounds. 

  How much weight have your lost? 

Since January of this year I lost 38.4 pounds.  I have fluctuated for about  8 years at right around 250 pounds give or take 5 pounds.

      What was your starting clothing size?  Your current size?  

My starting size was 22/24 pants and 2-3XL tops.  Just bought medium shorts yesterday, a pair of capris in large and a large top.

What plan did you follow to lose your weight?  (ie weight watchers, slim fast, a plan of your own creation...)  I really don't follow any special plan.  I have known since my type 2 diabetes was diagnosed that carbohydrate  and sugar intake needed to be watched.  I started to log EVERY day in MyFitnessPal and watched to make sure I didn't go over my carbohydrate and sugar levels. I had been to diabetes classes twice, once with my husband and once when I was diagnosed so I knew what to eat and how to make sure you get the nutrients  from all food groups.   I am an Excel spreadsheet geek, so I tracked all of the nutrients that the free version of the app allows, as well as calories.  I could see how I did each day against my weekly weight loss.  So that was a LONG answer to your question, so really my own plan.

Have you reached your weight loss goal?  If so, how long have you been maintaining your weight?

  Not yet!  I spoke with both my Endocrinologist and Primary Care doctor and they both would like to strive to get my BMI at a "normal level".  Searching that data on the internet shows me I should be at 170 pound's.

Do you consistently track your food intake (via online or paperform) 

  I track in myfitnesspal EVERY SINGLE DAY!

How often do you weigh yourself?  How did you come to that choice for how often? 

 I weigh myself once a week,  first thing in the morning.  On very rare occasions I will weigh mid-week, but my Sunday number is what I log in MyFItnessPal and on my spreadsheet.  I chose this because I know there are a lot of fluctuations each and every day and only wanted to have my sights on ONE weigh in a week.  I am the type of person that gets disappointed if I weigh in the morning after I go over my calories and see a gain.

What online tools do you use?  Just MyFItnessPal.com 

Do you exercise regularly?  If so, what do you do? 

Not really!  This is my weakness right now.  I am not sure if it is because I am lazy or what.  I just can't seem to get motivated for any period of time to keep at it.  I now work from home full time, so I can't say I "don't have time". since my 1-1/4 hour commute is gone!  I have a good bicycle and a great place  to walk. I also have clubhouse in the 55+ community where we live.  The clubhouse has a recumbent bike, several treadmills, weights, etc which is open 24-7 with our pass key .  Maybe admitting it to you for your blog will give me the incentive I need to get with it!  I know that I need to exercise not to lose weigh as much but to get rid of my stomach and to try to tone up my legs and arms.

What products do you use/can't live without/recommend? 

My FitBit   I finally purchased one at the end of May and don't know how I lived without it!  It helps me to get up and move since I work as a Project Manager and sit at least 8 hours a day.  I also like that I can log my water consumption, that it monitors my sleep and I can see it all at one place.  I also like that it pulls in all my data from MyFItnessPal.

Do you have any words of advice for someone that is just starting out on this journey of weight loss and health?  

Take it ONE day at a time.  Do what is best for you and don't compare yourself to anyone else.  YOU have to be ready to lose weight, make the changes and even find ways to get exercise in.  What works for someone else might not work for you!  It is a work in progress and something you will need to commit to for the rest of your life.  If you have NO medical issues now, try and fix this BEFORE you might possible need meds for conditions related to weigh loss such as type 2 diabetes, thyroid, blood pressure, cholesterol. etc.

Thank you Donna for sharing your inspiring weight loss progress and success with us!  I know you have been a true inspiration to me and I’m sure your story will inspire others.  You are proof positive that a healthy lifestyle CAN reverse the need for medications!  Keep up the good work and I’m sure that you will reach your weight goals and that more medications will be eliminated/reduced!   

If you want to read more success stories you can read about David and his flight to health!

Diet versus Exercise

The weekend has passed and I feel pretty confident about my weekend efforts to lose weight and my quest for a healthy lifestyle.  While I did splurge a bit, I feel confident with what I ate and the amounts that I ate.   It was hot outside but I managed to get out there and be a active also with some running.  As is many times the case, my brain went into overdrive during one run to bring me clarity about my actions and beliefs about exercise versus diet. 

Food is lost in the kitchen and not the gym!

Yesterday morning I posted David’s success story right before I went out for a run.  So it was natural that my thoughts went to that post during my run. Most specifically my thoughts focused on the fact that he achieved his goal with little or no exercise. This in itself was not surprising, after all I’ve written on here many times (or at least included a meme) about how exercise will not negate a bad diet. What was interesting about my thoughts on this run were the depth and direction that these thoughts took.  I was running and my first thought was, “why am I putting myself through this ‘torture’ if it’s not really where the weight loss is happening?”  Exercise is not something I regularly crave!  So why?  I immediately had my answer.  There were a few answers.  

**The first reason is that the exercise gives me the wiggle room in my eating routine to have a wee tiny splurge and not be so regimented and militant about my calorie count.  I still need to watch my intake of food. But I don’t worry as much about making sure I measure every drop of ketchup that I put on a burger or that every dollop of cream cheese I add to a chicken enchilada is exactly one tablespoon.   

** The next reason is simply because I like the euphoric feeling I get at the end.  It’s a sense of pride.  I pushed my body to do something and I did it.  I might hate every second of the actual run....but I like the exhilaration of being finished.

** The third  reason and possibly the most important reason that became clear to me during my run? I’m doing it to make my body strong.   When my beloved Zumba ended it took about a year but I saw a dramatic decrease in my fitness levels!  When I wasn’t running as much I saw another dip in what my body was able to do.  A random hike became difficult.  An occasional bike ride became brutal. I could see how my body changed and I didn’t like it.    I want a strong body!  I want to be able to do things, flourish and thrive in this thing called life for as long as possible.  Exercise helps make my body strong and more capable!  The extra bonus for being more physically fit... It helps tone up and eliminate the flab....it gives a body cleaner and leaner lines.  

Exercise?  Sounds like a no brainer to me...

Heat wave running

I got outside this weekend for some running.  It was hot! But I did it!

 On Saturday,  I made my normal lap, and even added the extra section to make it a bit longer.  (But was still short of what I was hoping for!). Have I mentioned how hot it was?

By the time I got back to our place I was really in need of some water.  Like, dangerously in need!  As I sat on the couch downing a bottle of water, Jason casually remarked, “I should have asked you to run by Giant (grocery store) and run in to grab me a caffeine drink while you we’re out.”    That sounds crazy but a half mile down the road there is a grocery store and I actually was somewhat near the store when I was out and about.  I thought for a few seconds and laced back on my shoes. The water had totally revived me and I felt good.   Why not do a quick mile...if I felt good I could run...but if I didn’t I could walk.  (Jason tried to tell me not to go but I was all in!!)   I ran to the store....literally.
On the way back though I did more walking than running.  

I didn’t let my double run on Saturday deter me from a run on Sunday.   It was still hotter than blue blazes, but out I went.   And I added even more into the loop that I’ve been running.  

Did I mention it was hot?  I did walk most of the last half mile....it was hot!

My take away from running is that I need to sit back and just run.  I need to stop thinking about the distance I used to run.  I need to stop thinking about the pace I used to run.  I need to just run the best I can at the point that I am at right now and be happy that my body allows me to accomplish that!

Eating and Diet

As I said at the beginning of this post, I feel like I did pretty good with my food.  My intake has been roughly right at 1300 calories.  I have fit in a splurge, I have made it work for me.  My calories through the weekend remained in line. The top graph shows my actual calorie count.  You can see that Sunday was a bit high (right at or right above my high end in the range of calories..1500).  The green graph accounts for exercise added in.  I feel pretty good about it all.  My weight stayed exactly the same..and for a weekend with splurges that is awesome in my book.  

Fun Stuff

Have I mentioned that it was hot?  We did our errands and just relaxed on Saturday.   On Sunday we relaxed and ran a few more errands.  I printed some copies of some writing that I have done that hopefully will someday be a book. (Yeah, I sooo need to buy a printer...and I almost bought one on Saturday, but remember I’m saving for a bike!) and we hit up some antique shops.  This feathery hat is sooo me...maybe I should go back and buy it! 

Ok, maybe I’ll leave this one there on the rack!  We also hit up a trail outfitters store.  That was enough heat for us.   We headed for home to watch movies in our the nice air conditioned place. 

We blinked and the weekend was over!  But I believe it was a totally successful weekend.  I managed to find balance with my eating.  I managed to get in some running.  I even managed to have some deep thoughts about what exercise means to me.  I don’t want the weekend to end, but at least this week I have off on Wednesday for the Fourth of July!

David’s Success Story

David and I connected quite a few years ago through this blog and we had some deep email discussions about weight loss and what it meant for each of us.  We have emailed sporadically through the years and just the other week when we were communicating, I was more than excited to hear that he had reached his goal!! David’s story is not about his weight or the numbers on the scale as you will see in his responses. His story is driven by health concerns and the restrictions of those health concerns.

Due to professional reasons, he is choosing to not share his picture, but his story is amazingly inspiring!

What sparked you to begin to lose weight??

I always wanted to be a pilot when I was young. But it wasn’t until my parents offered to pay for my flight training one summer while I was in college that I was able to act upon that dream. I jumped at their offer and went through the training and acquired my pilots license.  However, flying is a bit expensive and with finishing college, then finding a job, paying  for a place to live, a car, and all of life’s expenses; flying took a back seat.  I always thought that I would get back to it sooner or later, but time kept slipping by me.  As I got older and more settled in life I started to occasionally think about flying again.  However by that time I had a medical complication, high blood pressure.  I figured that would prevent me from easily regaining my pilots license. I was placed on medication,which managed the issue but I figured it would prevent me from clearing the medical requirements to regain my pilots license so I never pursued it. Eventually I became prediabetic and started taking more medications to control that.  Of course shortly thereafter the itch to fly really took hold of me. I really missed flying and now that I was a little older and could afford it, I was ready to get back into the cockpit.  So I did some research.  I found that all of my medications were on the FAA approved list.  The only complication was the diabetes.  My blood sugar was being controlled with medication (granted it was a little high, but it was steady). I could get the medical clearance without changing anything, but it would be more difficult and would require special certification.  In order to walk into the examination and walk out with a valid medical clearance (with no special clearance needed) my blood sugar needed to be lower.   That was my goal and my motivation, to get under that magic number so that could happen!

 What was your highest weight?   Current weight?

At my highest point I think I was at 268lb.  Now I am probably around 240.  I go to the Doctor every six months and as long as I weigh the same or less, I know  I am on the right path.  

Furthermore, I have reached the magic numbers to easily obtain my medical clearance. I am currently working on finishing up my training to obtain a valid and current pilots license.

What plan did you follow to lose your weight?

I sort of did my own thing.  I eliminated all sugar, or anything that was naturally sweet (including fruit).  I stopped eating things like rice, potatoes, pasta, and drastically limited my bread intake.  I wasn’t super strict about it.  I would occasionally have those things, and even dessert every now and then.  However, kept them to a minimum.  And I also started  trying to have a NSNG (no sugar, no grain) diet, albeit slightly modified.  I would recommend anyone listen to Vinnie Tortorich (vinnietortorich.com).   I think he has some podcasts of his own, but I would listen to him when he came on Adam Carolla's podcast.

Have you reached your weight loss goal?  If so, how long have you been maintaining your weight?

No, I would say I have some more weight to lose, but I dont have a magic number in mind.  If I stay where I am, so be it.  There is more to health that meeting one particular weight goal.

Do you consistently track your food intake 

No, but I do tend to kind of mentally track it during the day.  So if I splurge a tiny bit at lunch I will eat a better dinner, etc.

Do your exercise regularly?  If so, what do you do?

No I do not.  It is something I hope to fix one day. I will do some things that get me moving around, but not exercise per se.  I have  always hated exercise for the sake of exercise.  Much more willing to go for a hike or bike ride, etc, because I want to do that, not just to work out.

Do you have any words of advice for someone that is just starting out on this journey of weight loss and health?  

You have to commit to it mentally.  I tried multiple times with multiple different diets, and they all worked to some degree, but were far too restrictive to stay with long term and eventually the weight comes right back.   I would recommend just picking something, just one thing, that you like but know is bad for you.  Just cut it out.  Keep everything else the same, and go without that one thing. It could be that can of Coke, or that ice cream, whatever it is.  I am not saying it won’t be difficult.  All habits are hard to break.  But that is what it is, a habit, not a need.  And if you just cut out one thing, the impact is minimal, and after a while you wont even want it any more. After you have broken that habit, it’s time to cut out the next thing.  Do this  until you find what works for you.  Don't go on a diet, change your lifestyle.  Make permanent changes.  In my case, since I have cut out sugar; whenever I do have a sip of something like orange juice or a coke it is way to sweet for me.  I don't want it anymore.  There are still things (like chocolate) that I crave occasionally, and I do let myself have a piece every now and then (or a few m&ms, etc), but just enough to enjoy the taste, and thats it.  And if you do have a bad day, where you just eat like crap, don't worry about it, just reset the next day.  If most of your days are healthy, the occasional bad one will  hardly have an impact. 

 As far as your weight...I would say don't check it every day.  Maybe check it once a week at a consistent time (like just when you wake up but haven't showered).  And don't worry if it was higher than the last reading....you are just looking for a trend over a long period of time.  If you like, plot them on a graph and you can easily see the downward trend.  Its hard to see when you are obsessed with the numbers day to day.  

Is there anything else you would like to share?

As far as weight loss goes I believe that weight loss is 90% diet, and 10% exercise.  Focus on the diet!

Thank you David for sharing your story with us!  Your healthy changes have helped you reach your goals and accomplish your dreams.  Keep up the healthy lifestyle you have set up for yourself and you will definitely have continued succcess.  I’m sure flying is so much sweeter because of the effort you had to exert to get there!   Enjoy your airtime and fly safe my friend!

If you want to read more success stories, check out Lori’s story about how she has been losing weight through Weight Watchers or Crystal who has adopted a slow and steady approach to changing her lifestyle and weight.

Drowning: lost in the numbers

It’s Friday! That means it’s time for a weigh in check in. It’s time for the weekly wrap up.  And of course it’s time to share any great deep thoughts or discoveries that I had made this week. This week I had some success with the sweet treats at night. I also had a few pretty big discoveries in regards to my weigh ins and sharing my journey. 

First I will say that I did manage to walk most days this week on my breaks and lunches at work. I missed one or two due to rain, but I’m still walking away!  I need to get my ‘formal exercise’ game on though!   I swore I would run three times...I only made it two times.  But that’s better than none!!!

For a long time I have talked about how I like to weigh in every day. I know that this doesn’t work for some people. But for me it does tend to work. It keeps me on task and on target. Like I’ve said many many times this is an individual journey and we have to do what works best for us. So I weigh myself every day. Early on though, I realized that I needed to have one specific day for an official way in. On Wednesdays I report my weight to my friend Julie.  She weighs in at her weight watchers meeting that day, so  it’s an accountability thing for both of us. For the longest time I used Wednesdays as my way day…my official weigh in day. A few weeks ago I decided to change my day for the official weight results to be Friday. And I was happy with that decision and everything went fine. This week however on Wednesday I weighed myself and looked at the numbers and I realized that I was drowning in all of the numbers. I didn’t see any kind of success because my weight does fluctuate a bit and I don’t quickly know what previous weight I should be stacking my current weight agains.  So, I went to my weight tracker where I enter my weight. I enter it most days, or at least a couple times a week trying always to hit Wednesday and Friday for sure. I just looked at my Wednesday weigh ins. I ignored all of the other days. I was shocked! Here I was drowning in the numbers thinking I wasn’t doing anything and making no progress. Two weeks ago on Wednesday I was 254.6 pounds. Last week I reported my weight to Julie but didn’t really look at it as any kind of success… Because I was fluctuating from the weekend lack of water whatever. So two weeks ago I was 254.6 pounds.  Wednesday of this week  I was 247.2 pounds. That is a 7.4 pound loss in two weeks. Why in the world had I not been jumping for joy last Wednesday when I lost 4 pounds? I reported my weight to Julie… But where was the celebration for those first four pounds? That’s when I realized that I was drowning in the numbers. I was doing really good with weighing every day, but I wasn’t actually paying attention to the weeks losses. I missed out on the celebration.

So my official weigh-in was today.  The 254.6 was my highest weight in the last couple months and it coincided with when everything just clicked for me and I was ready to do this. (I have been gearing up for the last month, but was still resistant to a couple different aspects of this journey, maybe seeing 254.6 was my wake up call.) So today, my official weigh-in was 246.8     That is a loss of 7.8 pounds, just since  my eyes were opened two weeks back. If I want to be technical when I take from my highest weight of roughly 330 pounds, that means I have lost 83.2 pounds.

Let’s celebrate! (So do I get to re-celebrate 100 pounds gone when I get to 230 pounds?)

I was very resistant to giving up my sweet treats at night. I want to live life! I don’t want to live a life deprivation and restriction. I knew that there had to be a happy medium I just had to find it. I’m not saying that I have found the magic solution, but the last week or two I haven’t been as drawn to the sweet treats. Last week we had rice crispy treats that I had made. I’m not going to say that I didn’t have any. I had one or two small pieces. On the weekend I made a cake and I did have a piece every night. This past week I made cookies. I ate one. One cookie. (It helped that it was one of my least favorite cookies!) I have indulged the sweet tooth almost every night this week though. Every night, I have eaten a banana… With leftover chocolate icing on top. I think I just heard the gasp from people reading this post. Yes, I actually ate sugar and sugar is bad people will say.  But remember, I’m not aiming for the perfect diet with no sugar, or no fat, or no carb,  or high-protein or whatever whatever the perfect diet may be. I am aiming for balance. I am aiming for choices that I can live with.  I am aiming for choices that I can be happy with for long-term. Balance for me this week was eating something healthy like a banana instead of the cake. A banana and icing was a much healthier choice that cake with icing. Balance while living life. That sounds like a victory to me!

Last Friday I talked about the drama surrounding my work luncheon that I was choosing to not participating. Once a few people figured out that the drama that was created by some people, was in actuality the exact opposite of what my intentions were some people changed and tried to get me to participate. I was question pretty heavily on Friday about why I wasn’t participating. OK, They were grilling me about why I was not participating. They were friendly about it, But they would not accept my simple answer of I just am choosing to not participate. So, I admitted to my team…or at least to the four people that were present, that I’m not happy with my weight and I am really working on it and that I did not want all of the excess calories that a catered luncheon would carry.  They question me a little bit more about my newfound efforts and where I’ve been and where I’m going. They were trying to pass out sweet treats on Tuesday and when one of the girls came to my desk to give me something.  I said no thanks… She laughed and said oh that’s right I forgot, I’m sorry! So number one, it is good because some of the people will stop pushing food on me. But even more importantly, I have people watching now. My first response last weekend when I thought about how I admitted where I’m at and what I’m doing what is that, “holy moly… they know now and if I don’t lose the weight the whole world will know that I failed.”  I couldn’t take back the words of course but in a way, having that fear and not wanting to fail has made me redouble my efforts and keep me focused. Sometimes it’s so hard to admit to people that we want to lose weight and that we want to change. So we keep it a secret because it safe. And there’s nothing wrong with that, but maybe, just maybe sharing the journey will help keep us on track. (And let’s be honest, I don’t know one person that is overweight, obese really, that wants to be that way. So sharing the desire shouldn’t be scary. Anyone that looks at me can see the overweight girl and can already see that I failed… ) 

A few weeks back when I was revamping a couple things on this site, I took off the weight-loss progress page.  Honestly, I hadn’t updated it in a long time. And furthermore it’s embarrassing. In recent years there’s a lot of attempts and a lot of failures and that’s embarrasseing. However, with the epiphanies I had this week… Drowning in the numbers of my daily weigh ins, and see how the open honesty and accountability helped me, I decided to put it back on the site. I had a momentary thought of going back through my Weight tracking apps and trying to re-create the last 2 years since I last updated that page. Instead, I decided to put a few highlight weigh ins.  For most of the time, I stayed relatively close in my weight… Fluctuating maybe 5 pounds. So, I basically just notated that, and I did put in one or two events or weights that I specifically recall or saw my weight change drastically. One of those was in November when my dad died I gained 20 pounds in two weeks… If I want to be honest I gained it in one week. And since that time, I have been fluctuating within 5 pounds of that higher weight. (Until this week… I actually have started to move lower… Hip hip hooray.) So I have kind of updated the last two years, but I’m not going to go into depth on the actual nitty-gritty week to week weigh in results. While I do weigh in every day, the page will only be updated once...maybe twice a week (most likely for the official weigh in and the unofficial official Wednesday weigh in.). I am working to go back through my files and find pictures of myself to place within the page showing myself at the various weights.  I may also work on some graph...but that’s all yet still to come.

I’m feeling very strong and powerful in my emotions about this journey. I’m feeling very strong about my effort from the past two or three weeks and Strong in regards to my future weight-loss efforts.