Sunday, January 6, 2013

On a happy plateau.

A new year, and another chance to make it stick!  Haha! Who am I foolin'?  This is a lifelong process, and a daily struggle.  I'm feeling very satisfied, though, with the progress I'm making, albeit slow.  Weighing in daily now right around 207.  No change for the last couple weeks.  Plateau?  Again?  No biggy...   This too, shall pass.  :-)

   At this weight, I'm in a 16 for the most part, but I have one or two size 14s that I can wear.  At my lowest a couple years ago, I got my wide butt into a size 10.  That was nice while it lasted, but it was so hard to maintain!  A 12 was perfect, and it made me so happy to be able to find clothes that were stylish and fit.  At this point, that's my goal.  At my age, I'm less worried about being "skinny", then just making sure my health habits prolong my life!  I want to be healthy, agile, and still moving when I'm 60 and beyond! So far so good... and I'm only 10 years from my 60th birthday!  Holy moly.  Life really is too short.  I want to be healthy enough, and last long enough in this body to see my son and his kids thrive!  (And my son is only 16, so I've got to last a LONG time!)    :-)

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Happy Sunday!

Woke up this morning, my only day off, at 5:30.   I swear, sometimes I want to take my "body clock" and throw it against the wall!  LOL   Weekdays, M-Sat, my alarm goes off at 6:00.  On Sundays, I should be able to sleep until 8 without stirring... but no go! My body wakes up, and if I didn't, my cat would see to it that I got up anyway to feed him.  ;-)
  No worries though.  I got up, made my coffee, and got on the scale.  This morning I'm down 22 lbs since August.  I weighed in at 206.6, and that makes me happy.  It's not a fast loss, but I'm burning a lot of calories during the day, and not being that careful what I eat, so it's going to be slow.  Slow is fine.  Slow is healthy.  At this rate, about 20 lbs in 4 months, I'll be back to my happy 170 by summertime!  Only 36 more to go!  Easy peasy!  :-)

Sunday, November 25, 2012

No great loss.

Over the past couple days, the scale has read 210.8, or 211.02... always in that range, and it's been there for the last 4-5 days.  This morning, I woke up to a solid 211.  No ounces.  ;-)

  Last night I took my son and his new girlfriend to dinner.  TGIFriday's... her choice.  I had Brochetta Pasta, which was basically angel hair with a light pomodoro and grilled chicken.  Nice. We also ordered fried green beans, and salads.  It was a good meal.

 During the day, when I'm working, (and I'm usually on the clock between 10-12 hours), I try to get a quick protein in the morning. I'll have either a little yogurt or a couple microwaved eggs, and always at around 6:30.  By the time I get my mail ready to go out, (USPS, remember?) it's 9:30 or 10, and I'll have a quick 100 calorie Clif bar on my way out.
  By 1:30, I'm ready for lunch.  I've been bringing a whole wheat "wrap" in my lunch.  I'll put mustard and cheese and whatever meat is in the house on the wrap, roll it up, and call it GOOD!  And it IS!  Friday, I had turkey and swiss.  Yum.
  I always also throw in yogurt, and something crunchy.  Either a couple of Newton Fruit Wafers, or ginger snaps.  :-) 
  Not exactly how the "low cal" plan started, but I'm not over doing it, and the exercise I'm getting daily is burning off whatever I eat during the day.  I just have to watch my dinners.  Usually, I'm too tired to have more than a salad anyway, and some nights I'm too tired to build one, so I settle for a glass of wine and some frozen veggies.  Haha!
  I really should be balancing my meals better... but once I've had that glass of wine, I can barely balance myself!

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Hello, Little Plaid Skirt. Long time no see...

Today, I went to my boyfriend's house for Thanksgiving.  Having lost 18 lbs, I was able to grab a skirt I haven't worn in a while, and feel like it was new again!  Okay, fine.  So maybe this style should have stayed buried in the closet.  But it's plaid, and plaid is cute, right??   ;-)
  I ate a plate of small portions, and then went back for more turkey.  I had two glasses of wine, and two different desserts.  No worries...   tomorrow's walking at work will burn off those calories, and then some.  I just might wake up to 211 in the morning on the scale.  But heck!  Thanksgiving only comes once a year!  And, for the most part, I was good.  It's actually hard NOT to be good.  When you're full, you're full.  And I was full after one plate, so it was easy.   I remember a time when I'd go back for a second plate, with full portions of everything.  Times have changed.
  Here's a photo of me today.  My son took this.  He had to take three, since he said in the first two, my face looked funny.   Haha!   Geez...  I can't help how my face looks!  I was born with this one!  ;-)

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

It's a wrap! ...or is it?

   It's been months and months, (maybe over a year?) since I last posted.  My weight got back up to 228.  And I was unmotivated.  But ya know, all it takes to motivate me is seeing the scale go DOWN a pound or two, rather than UP, and I'm back on track. 
  So as I was beginning my downward spiral, (haha) I suddenly had a big change happen in my life.  The boyfriend and I parted ways, happily, and I found myself needing to go back to work full time to support myself and my son on a new single income.  For years I had been working part-time as a city carrier for the USPS, but now, the decision was made to go back to full-time.  Full time mail carrier is tough work, and you almost don't have time to eat, and you work (and WALK) hours and hours a day!
  When I started full-time again, I was back up to an unhealthy weight.  In the last 2 months, by just being busy again, and working and walking tons, I've dropped so far 18 lbs.  Weighed in at 210 this morning.  I think at some point, my body will just get used to all this exercise, and the weight will stop coming off.  Hopefully, not until I get back down to 170.  :-)
  Anyway, I thought about this blog today, and I wondered if it hadn't just disappeared into cyber space.  But it's still here!  And I thought about printing it, and calling it good, but really, my story isn't over.  Is it ever over when it comes to our health? 
  I think I'll post a few more times.  Let's see if I can keep doing this until I'm back to 170, and then I'll print the whole thing, and put it to bed. 

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Same weight!

I haven't been making time for writing anymore, and it shows on the scale. There's a direct correlation between being accountable in this blog for my actions, and what the scale shows. Here it is, nearly a month since my last post, and I'm at basically the same weight. No gain, thank God, but I think I was at 219 on February 13, and today I weighed at 218. Holy cow... at this rate, I'll never get into that size 14 dress by the end of April! I haven't been as dedicated to calorie counting, as I have been in the past.
So many reasons to get this 20 lbs off before summer! And I'm wasting time!

Monday, February 13, 2012

New activities.

Totally lost focus for a few days. Weighed today and am up two pounds. Oh no!

So I'm determined in the gym again. Today I walked my mile on the treadmill, at an average speed of 3.2, so I finished in around 20 minutes. Then I moved my happy butt over to the elliptical, and did another 15 minutes, getting through 1.10 miles there. My speed on the elliptical averages about 3.8, but I keep it on level one.
Isn't it so frustrating... the moment you realize, if you'd have stayed on track the last few weeks, you'd actually be close to your goal? But instead, you had a second helping of this, or an extra serving of that, and next thing you know, you're heading the wrong way on the scale again.
A while back, I talked about adding new activities to my daily routine. I need new ways to burn calories, so I'm considering starting to ride my bike to work. I checked the distance yesterday, and it's just over a mile, so it's really no big deal at all. The only concern I have is getting into the routine of taking my uniform to work, and making sure I have time to change and freshen up before work. I have a fairly "sweaty" job anyway, so a quick bike ride and a little perspiring is not going to ruin my reputation. :-)
My only other concern is that if I were to get a flat or otherwise break down on the way to work, I'd have to walk the bike back home, and get the car. There might be an occasion where I'm late to work, and I hate that! But chances are, it won't happen ever... or at least very rarely.
The weather has been warm for February, and as long as there's no snow or rain, there should be no reason for me not to give this a try. Trust me people, I'm psyching myself up for it. I'm going over all the pros and cons in my head... talking myself into it.
I have a friend who has given up vehicles, almost completely. He still owns a truck and motorcycle, but has commuted and travelled by bicycle exclusively since September. Even in the snow. He's my inspiration. If he can do everything by bicycle, and still have a normal life, why can't I do a 2-mile round trip daily? Well, it's a start. I might like it so much, I'll follow his lead! Not likely, but it's a nice thought. :-)