Frustrated!

I'm frustrated today. The scales actually showed me up even higher than yesterday! What the heck???? I mean, I ate good yesterday! And that's what I get? The only thing I can think of....I finished my water early..and for some reason stopped drinking instead of continuing through out the evening. I know part of it was that I sat down to dinner and realized that I forgot to get a glass of water. I was just plain too darn lazy to get up and get it! Then the same thing at the computer later. I just didn't feel like getting up to go get it! So that probably hurt me!

I did however exercise for 40 minutes yesterday. I went with the step aerobics. Today I did about 45-50 minutes. Kicked my butt today. I really pushed it hard!

I've changed my mind three times on what I'm going to have for lunch. This is terrible! I've whited out my lunch plans three times now in my journal! I've got to make up my mind!!!!!!! Ok...I think I settled on what I'm going to have!!!!!

Cookies??????

Made cookies last night. For me, it's not really the finished cookie that is the tempting thing. For me, it's the cookie dough! Yeah, I know! Why in the world did I make cookies then? I made them because we haven't heard from Todd's uncle since shortly after his grandmothers death. We have a few things that we've found that is his and went to send them to him. Walnut/Icebox cookies are his favorite....so I thought I would make a batch to send along as a goodwill gesture. I had way too much cookie dough last night! :-)

I did have one cookie this morning with my breakfast (just to make sure they tasted ok). I'm done with them now! (It's actually easier to say that...because I'm not a big fan of walnuts!)

Weight is still up! TOM finally arrived so hopefully the weight will right itself this time! Crazy...I don't usually suffer from PMS, but this month was a killer!

I've got my eating plan laid out for today. It should be a pretty easy one to stick with! Hopefully the munchie stage is totally past! :-) Planning on doing step aerobics today. That's always fun. Of course it's nice outside...maybe I should go for a jog on the battlefield instead. Hmmmmm....decisions decisions decisions.

Success

Ok, maybe not a scaled success...but a success nonetheless. I ate lunch today. It was quite yummy, I had a salad and some applesauce. When I was done I was in the kitchen putting my dishes in the dishwasher and getting my grapes (midafternoon snack) ready to go to work. I was trying to decide in my head which 100 cal pack that I was going to eat. I hadn't planned on eating a 100 cal pack, however I WANTED one! I was sure I was still hungry! I don't know what caused me to do it, but I stepped back from the situation and really thought about how I felt at that moment and I decided that I wasn't really hungry. I decided that if I wanted one later, then that would be ok...but at that time, I didn't really need one! HUGE victory!

Now I'm at work......cramps have hit! MISERABLE! I rarely get cramps so I'm not happy! (like I'd be any happier if I get them regularly either!) HOpefully that isn't one of the things that is changing in my body. I usually only get cramps every couple months....luckily not every month. BUT, in the last few months, my cycle has been all whacked out and changing. ( A few months ago my cycle shortened....it's clockwork still...but just 4 days shorter! SHORTER...why couldn't it have gone longer...further apart!)

I was a bad bad girl

Wow...don't know what happened yesterday. I was super hungry...just couldn't seem to get enough food! I overate...thankfully, I overate eating healthy stuff. I didn't indulge in any unhealthy items at least. The moment of truth this morning.....the scales only showed me up .2 pounds from yesterday. That's not too bad. Bad enough, considering they are already up. HOwever....I know why thy are up (water retention...TOM) so I'm not to concerned.

I've already laid out my plans for eating today. I'm going to go with a really low day, point wise, for eating. Not starvation low...but just low. I've been eating on the high end and I feel like I need to do this to get myself back on track. When I say I've been eating on the high end....I've been eating my flex points....and I simply don't lose if I eat my flex! That's the unfortunate break of my body type and chemistry. boo hooo!

Why do we continue to eat something even though we really don't like it? What is wrong with my brain that I keep shovelling the food in, even though I'm not overly impressed! Huge food for thought! Because it seems as if I could conquer that, I'd be halfway to totally conquering this weight battle!

My aching back!

Wow...yesterday I was a workhorse! Todd and I went to two fleamarkets (one indoor and one outdoor), out to lunch, to the orchard and then home. After we got home, he went to work...and so did I. I mowed for about 2 hours. Then I began the applesauce operation! 8 hours , 2 bushels and 89 jars of applesauce later I was done. I fell into bed exhausted! I woke up this morning and my back is soooooo sore! OUCH!

The weight this week hasn't been overly kind. TOM and I've not been drinking my water. Those two things combined will kill! I'm about two pounds up...which is about average for TOM! It will come off! I also haven't been exactly diligent with my eating! That's a huge issue I know! I found out on Friday that I won't be able to go to my meeting this week...and I'll admit that since then, I've been even more relaxed and lots less diligent with my eating. It truely is interesting how much that accounatability keeps me 'honest"

Well, all my activity from yesterday didn't show up on my scales this morning. I'm not too overly upset because I know that TOM is right around the corner! :-) So, after getting off the scales, I mosied to the exercise bike and rode. I only went for 20 minutes because of time restrictions. I hope to ride some more tonight.

I will say though, that my legs are really sore today. Not sure if it's because I really pushed it on the elliptical yesterday, or if it's becuase the weights got to me (although I only did a small amount of lower body strength training) or if it is because I was canning then for hours...standing. Of if it was my bike riding this morning. Who knows, but I'm feeling some twinges in my legs. It's all good......I guess I can be kinda sadistic to like that little muscle twinge. Reminds me that I'm doing something good for my body!

We are going out with friends for dinner. Cracker Barrell. I'm not sure what I'm going to get...but this time, I'm goign to remember to account for the biscuits before I order. Last week when I went, I accounted for the food I ordered, and then when Todd asked for the biscuits and cornbread, I floundered and ate! :-) Still lost last week, so all is good. :-) Hmmm...what should I have! I'm currently sitting here at work eating my afternoon snack of grapes.

Lost 4.6 officially this past week! :-)

Today was super busy...but it was so much activity that I'm happy. We worked out at the gym, picked in the garden, ran some errends, and then I canned produce for a couple hours! Whew....am I tired!

Scales went down another .6 pounds today! It's just amazing. I struggled for so long....with nothing. Then all of a sudden it's just dropping off me like flies!

morning weigh in

My news. Are you ready. The scales this morning showed 186.8! Did you read that right. 1 8 6 . 8 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! One hundred eighty six point eight pounds! Oh I hope I hope I hope that I can manage to hold onto that weight and be somewhere in that vacinity for my weigh in tonight!

Belly Fat

Ok....so like many, my belly is my main place that I am storing fat (energy...haa haa haa). And yes, the belly has gotten much smaller during this journey...but sometimes I despair that it will ever be gone! (Wouldn't that be a freaky site....a thin person with this huge blob of fat in the front!) Anyway...so I decided to mosey around and see what I can find. So far my findings have not surprised me.

1. From http://www.thefactsaboutfitness.com/news/waist.htm

It won't surprise you to learn that the best way to lose abdominal fat is to eat right and exercise regularly. And there's a growing body of research showing that the fastest way to burn off the fat from your belly is with a combination of weight-training and aerobic exercise.
Some evidence for this comes from a six-month study of thirty obese women [6]. They were assigned to one of three groups: a control group, an aerobic exercise group and a combined exercise group.
The aerobic group did one hour of cardiovascular exercise (60-70% maximum heart rate) six days a week. The combined exercise program involved weight training (3 days a week, Monday, Wednesday, Friday) and aerobic exercise (3 days a week, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday).
Here's what the combined exercise program looked like:
Monday — Weight training (60 minutes)
Tuesday — Aerobic exercise (60 minutes)
Wednesday — Weight training (60 minutes)
Thursday — Aerobic exercise (60 minutes)
Friday — Weight training (60 minutes)
Saturday — Aerobic exercise (60 minutes)
Sunday — Off
The combined exercise group lost almost three times more abdominal subcutaneous fat and 13% more visceral fat than the aerobic-only group.


2. taken from http://www.tranquillizer.co.uk/articles/How-To-Lose-Belly-Fat.html
How to Lose Belly Fat - Rule One - AlcoholDecrease that alcohol consumption. I am sure that most people know that alcohol can cause weight gain, but I am certain that they do not know the degree of impact that alcohol can cause. Excess alcohol consumption can really give you that belly. Have you seen people that are slim all over but have a belly sticking out? Well, that is effect of excess alcohol consumption. One gram of alcohol, which is can be calculated as one ml of alcohol contains 7 calories. Even thought the amount of calories is lesser than of fat, alcohol calories are completely useless. Alcohol does not contain any nutrients at all. So, the entire amount of calories consumed through alcohol will be stored as fat! Alcohol is also in the form of liquid. That means, you can really consume a lot at one sitting! I am not saying that you should avoid alcohol totally, just go for moderation. Do not drink everyday and limit your self to one glass of wine or one bottle of beer.
How to Lose Belly Fat - Rule Two - Late Night SnacksTry not to have late night snacks. Late night snacks are a favorite because we usually snack while we watch a late night movie, have supper with friends to have chitchat and sometimes, if we work late, we also tend to eat very late at night. The only problem with late night snacking is that there is not much activity done after that. People go straight to bed right after the late night meal because they are tired. So, this will cause high sugar levels in the blood stream and no energy spent after that. The excess sugar will just turn into fat and be stored under the skin. Try to consume you last meal around 2-3 hours before your bedtime. If you are hungry during late nights, consume a small meal instead which just enough to fill your stomach.
How to Lose Belly Fat - Rule Three - CarbohydratesSlow down on the carbohydrates and bulk up your vegetables instead. Consuming too much carbohydrate can bump up your insulin level which can slow down your metabolism. Your body cannot metabolize too much carbohydrate at once because the body doesn’t need so much energy at once. The excess sugar will just turn into body fat.
Combine your meals with a good combination of protein, carbohydrate and vegetables. Your source of protein should be in a size of a deck of cards; the carbohydrates in a size of your palm and the major bulk of your meals should come from vegetables.
How to Lose Belly Fat - Rule Four - Junk FoodThrow out the junk food and forget about the junk food! You are what you eat. If you eat a lot of junk with a lot of high saturated fats, then you will end up like fat with a junk heart! Do not store junk food like cookies, chips, sweets and other similar products in your house. If you do not have these bad foods lying around, you will not think about it and after sometime, you will break the bad eating habits.
How to Lose Belly Fat - Rule Five - ExerciseExercise, exercise, exercise! Get your lazy but off the couch, put down the beer and head on to the gym. A fitness center, gym or a health club is for everyone. Do not feel shy going into these places. If you do not know how to get started, hire a personal trainer to kick off your new healthy lifestyle. If you want to exercise by yourself, get some books on weight loss and exercise to help you start off the right track. I highly recommend the “ Metabolic Surge” weight loss exercise program because it covers the fundamentals of exercise. Workout with weights at least 2 times per week and do your cardio at least 3 times a week. Each weight session is around 45 minutes and each cardio session is around 30 mins. So, actually, you can just workout 3 times a week. 2 days you will combine weights and cardio and on one day you just do your cardio. Its actually very little time spent on your health. Everybody have time, it’s just that you have to make the time and put your health as your priority.


3. found on http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19234440/
Certain foods can help you lose belly fatFalse. Contrary to what some diet books and articles preach, certain foods cannot magically melt away the fat off your belly (or any other part of your body). Where fat tends to settle is typically all in your genetics.
The good news is when you eat an appropriate amount of calories for weight loss (meaning less then you burn), you’ll eventually lose weight “all over” your body — including your personal problem areas (like your belly, if that’s where you have it). And if you add regular exercise while watching what you eat, you’ll burn even more calories and tone, tighten and strengthen the muscles underneath the fat, so when it comes off, you’ll look even leaner.

After a good weigh in, especially one that follows a jump downward on the scale (like yesterdays weigh in!), I get nervous. I tend to let myself obsess about my weight. I worry about the next day, not wanting to be disappointed if the numbers are higher! Yesterday though, I ate carefully...ok carefully isn't a good word. Yesterday I ate wisely, so I knew that I should be ok. Even so, this morning it was with fear and trepidation that I stepped onto the scales. 188.2! Not a big drop, but a drop (.2). Looks to me like that weigh may be sticking around! I've already laid out my plans on what to eat today. Tomorrow is the official weigh in! Crossing my fingers on that!

I'm hoping to get out and finish my mowing this afternoon. That will give me some extra activity. That and I need to dead head our flower garden. I will then finish drying the heads on my drying racks and we will use the seeds from those heads for our garden next year. We are trying to get a ton of seeds this year. Mainly because next year we will be planting two flower gardens, one at the studio and one on Mondell Road. So we are trying to save as many seeds as possible! Plus, I'll be making dinner tonight, of course. :-)

Yesterday had another comment on my weight. It was someone that I've seen, but they usually see me in my scrungy clothes (ie my old tee shirts that are too big, and baggy shorts.....workout clothes and/or garden/work clothes...) So this person actually saw me right after we left church, and I was wearing that clothes that actually fit...and with a more tailored fit.

Speaking of a more tailored fit....it does take some getting used to. For such a long time I wore more loose fitting, free flowing clothes. Trying to hide my weight. So now I'm wearing more form fitting shirts. It really is a different feel!

Shopping, slicing and dicing

Got our walk in!!!! We did an hour. It was hotter than blue blazes, but at least we were moving! :-) It is always a treat to be with mom!

I also did the grocery shopping. I got home at 7PM. We ate a light meal (most of it pre-prepared stuff....stuff I made last night/this morning) and then I got to work in the kitchen. I've found that not only is healthy food more expensive (for the most part) but it is also more time consuming! Soooo my usual routine is to get home from shopping and clean, cut, fix, prepare (whatever) whatever I can. So...I sliced and chopped all the fixin's for the salad bag (I put together a big ziploc bag...inside is little ziploc bags of cut up carrots, green peppers, cucumbers, onion...etc etc etc...everything for a salad), I capped and sliced my strawberries, cut up our cantalope, made croutons (last weeks left over bread...seasoned and baked..yum!), peeled and cooked apples and then made applesauce....hmmm Oh yes, washed the grapes. Hmmmm... SO I spend about 1.5 hours AFTER just getting things fixed up! But, this way I know it is there ready for me. It's now extra convienent!

Bought a new book put out by Weight Watchers today. Not sure it it's going to be at all beneficial to me...but heck, it's worth the read! :-)

The scales showed me down to 188.4! This week, I'm determined to hold onto that low weight for my weekly weigh in! That would be more than awesome! Especially since last week was showing me up! Who knows though with the difference in scales! :-) (although, if this coming up week is one where the scales seem to match up...which is usually, it's only on the rare occaision that they don't...like last week. Anyway, if this coming up week show the scales matching up, AND I can hold onto this lower weight, then it will show me at a 4 pound loss! I'm not holding my breath though. I'm just going to stay focused and do my best! )

Mowed yesterday for 2 hours! I have about two hours more to go (or half of the yard). I'm planning on doing that tomorrow. Today after church I'm going in to mom and dad's. Then I'll do my grocery shopping. I'm hoping that mom and I can at least go for a walk or something this afternoon!!

GREAT GREAT GREAT!

I just read something......a little motivational sentence that is absolutely GREAT!

Think of yourself as a toy train. All toy trains derail now & then. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off & get back on track.

and

Have you hit a brick wall? Aim higher & jump over it.

Meanwhile, lunch is over. I had a salad (spinach leaves, carrots, green peppers, celery, onions) topped with lite dressing (2 points) and homemade croutons (1 slice of ww bread 0---5 sprays of liquid butter 0----seasoning such as molly mcbutter...0....then toast them in the oven for a short amount of time until crisp...YUMMY), homemade applesauce (made with splenda...yummy) and a 100 cal pack (actually it was the weight watchers honey mustard pretzels...nice and salty). I feel satisfied. Not hungry...pleasantly satisfied! :-) I have my grapes for my mid-afternoon snack left sitting here on my desk. (oh yeah...I've had a few of the Eclipse sugar free mints....onions on the salad ya know)

Perserverance

Last night after I wrote my entry, I went into the living room and laid on the couch, feeling sorry for myself. I couldn't put a finger on what was wrong. And I still don't know for sure. However, Todd came over to me and asked me what was wrong. Without thinking, I blurted out, "I'm hungry and I want to eat." I know for a fact that I wasn't really hungry. It was a total emotional eating moment. (nope, I didn't succumb to the pressure either!) But then I went on and babbled about how much I miss this food and that food...and this restaurant and that restaurant. It was almost as if I was mourning the loss of a friend. Yes, I know that I can eat any of these foods. However, I can't eat them in the abundance and regularity that I used to eat these old "friends". After my crying jag, I laid on the couch for a while longer....still unmotivated and not wanting to get off my butt and exercise. BUT, I perservered. No, I didn't do the most energetic and butt kicking workout. BUT, I did get up and do Dance Dance Revolution! Did it make me feel better. Not really. :-) But I was very proud that I did it anyway!

This morning we got up early and went walking on the battlefield. It really is a gorgeous place to walk. Especially in the morning when it is not inundated with tourists...and when the dew is still on the crops in the field...and the sun is just peeking out! It was nice to be out. BUT, the really cool thing about our walk. We swung around and we were cutting through the visitor center parking lot. We ran into someone that I waited on when I worked at the deli. One of his first comments was, "Look at you, Skinny!" Makes one feel good. Yeah, my family compliments me, and I totally appreciate it. However, it really means something coming from someone that you barely know!

I'm resisting temptation. Everyone here at work ordered out.... I'm sticking with my salad and fruit! :-) Todd and I are thinking of going out tonight though. So that made the decision a bit easier...becuase I don't want to blow my points only to eat my lunch in the breakroom by myself. I'd rather enjoy it with my husband.

Wow....I'm reading an article about getting the best exercise/walking shoe. As for the fitting of the shoes. Some of it seemed like common sense. But who would have thought about buying your shoes (getting fitted for them) at the end of the day.

Fitting guidelines for walking shoesHere are some general guidelines to consider when getting fitted for a new pair of walking shoes.
Have the salesperson take dimensions of both feet since there may be differences. Take measurements while standing, as feet expand when bearing weight. Base new shoe size on these measurements, not on previous shoe size.
Take foot measurements at the end of the day, since feet tend to swell throughout the course of the day.
Try on and lace up both walking shoes (left and right) while wearing regular socks. Stand up and walk around to make sure the fit is correct.
Never buy walking shoes that immediately feel too tight. Though they will go through a break-in period, if walking shoes initially feel very tight, they are too small.

Feeling Blah!

I got home from work and I just feel plain and simple blah. I feel like I want to (going to) cry. I just feel on edge and yucky! I don't like it at all. SOOOO where does that leave me with exercise????? I haven't done it yet if that's any answer. I did however put on my exercise clothes when I got home....but I'm thinking it may be a no go tonight! That sucks! I soo want to eradicate my little gain!

I get this free mag All You in the mail...got the September 28,2007 issue in the mail today. They had a little blurb that's worth re-writing onto here.
Don't Rely on diet soda to lose weight :Low calorie soft drinks alone to not help shed pounds.
If you are working to cut calories, diet soda is probably n ot your friend. The more diet soda you drink, the more likely you are to gain weight, researchers have discovered. For reasons that are still unclear, the risk of becoming obese increased by 41 percent for each can of diet soda a person drank a day.

I just thought that was interesting. Don't know how in the world that study can be true. THe only thing that I can come up with is that people that drink diet tend to be overweight or know that they are prone to being overweight to begin with!

OH well.......still feeling blah.......

plan a, plan b...oh heck, just hoping it will work out!

Yesterday all my plans for exercise kept getting changed. However, I did perservere and exercise for 30 minutes yesterday evening. I had grand plans. I was going to get up early this morning and exercise before I got ready for work (they called me and switched me from 10AM to instead come in at 7:45 AM) I had the alarm set when I went to sleep. However, I woke up an hour before the alarm was set to go off to go to the bathroom...and on the way back through to bed...well, changed the time to my 'normal' wake up time. Early is just so foreign to me. I stumble around the house getting ready for work as it is when I have to go in at 7:45! I SHOULD get off at 4. SO, I'm planning on doing something active tonight.

Weight dropped a bit today. Not as much as I'd like...but a bit! Oh why oh why did I let myself eat that. It's amazing. 10 minutes of yumminess (probably not even that) and bam...a week or two getting rid of the weight! ISn't that utterly amazing??? I need to start reminding myself of how long it takes to get rid of the weight when I want to eat that bread when we go out to restaurants!

I've come to the conclusion. I've been trying to hold out on bras....because they are so darn expensive! (or can be....at least for big girls) BUt, I can't do it anymore....they are saggy, they offer NO support...they are not at all flattering my body! It's time. I'm going to have to break down and do it! :-) I went through my bra drawer and cleared out the ones that are massively huge on me. I also found a few that I had bought when I guess I was in denial about how big I really was. SO I do have one or two that actually fits me. YEp...exciting stuff!

Drum roll!

Ok, so it wasn't a good weigh in. At least I'm being positive! I really don't know much about what happened. I weighed in at home like I normally do....and I showed myself at the exact same weight as I was one week previously...so it should have showed a maintain. HOWEVER.....I weigh in and low and behold 1.8 pounds UP??? WHAT THE HECK!

So, I'm back to working it and trying to do my best!

Not sure about tonight. Saturday night and Sunday kinda blew my weight out of the water...ok, not THAT much. But it basically eradicated my weeks losses! Not because I ate so overly much either...but mainly because I ate CARBS, CARBS and more Carbs! Each meal was chock full of carbs! I'm hoping for a maintain tonight!

I was thinking though. My energy levels are so much higher now. I want to do things...I feel lazy if I'm not moving. Yesterday I canned pears all day. This morning, I went out and thouroughly cleaned out both cars.....shop vac, amor all, the whole works! I'm starting to think about getting lunch now!

Day with mom and dad!

We didn't eat Mexican...which is somewhat of a relief. But I did end up eating too much food. The bread at the places we ate at is what killed me! Oh well.....lesson learned.

I did however wake up super early this morning and DID exercise before we left with mom and dad!!!! Yay for me!

Lowest yet!

Ok, I know...I will be having that titel a lot in the future! Today I was my lowest weight yet! 198.4!!! I ate really good for breakfast and lunch. I did eat a bit much for dinner...but since I ate so good the rest of the day, I should be ok! Now my next challenge is tomorrow. We are going to spend the day with mom and dad....eating out..ALL Day! I think Mexican is in our future...which I don't know if I can eat well at a mexican place! Eii yii yiii!