I was just thinking. Aside from the obvious inches I've lost, and the staggering 80 lb drop in weight, I should consider the body fat % as well.
When I first started dieting, I was a hefty 256 lbs. My neck measurement was approximately 17", my waist 46", and my hips 48". At a height of 5'10", that put my body fat at 49%. That means that nearly half my total weight was fat. Holy cow!
Currently, my measurements are: neck-14", waist-34", and hips- 41". With my weight this morning at 177.2, my body fat comes out to 31%.
Based on the charts I use, I'm in the healthy range! For a female, age 41-60 (I'll be 47 next month!), the healthy range is 23-35%. I actually fall into the healthy range for a female 20-40 years of age, that being 21-33%.
At 49%, I was well into the obese range. I would venture to say, morbidly obese, although the chart I use doesn't distinguish between the two. I was pre-diabetic, and with high blood pressure and failing joints, I was well on my way to an early grave.
Things have sure turned around! My moods, although positive for the most part even before the weight loss, have become so much better. If I was teetering on the verge of depression, I've pulled myself up and away from the edge of that deep, deep chasm. Thank God. That was a precarious position to be in, and now I'm on level ground again. :-)
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
Maintaining
Got back last night from our whirlwind trip to California. The whole trip, from airport to airport, was only 36 hours. But it was one trip we couldn't miss! Mom's 80th Birthday party was a hit!
I left on Saturday morning weighing 176. Home last night, and this morning I'm at 178. There wasn't time to do a lot of snacking, although because it was Mom's birthday, there was more than one cake to sample. The caterer at the party had salads, beef, chicken, mashed potatoes and bread. I probably would have felt more comfortable with steamed veggies and fruit salad, but that didn't stop me from joining the family at the buffet line!
Plane food is easy to justify snacking on. Only 50 calories in one of those little trail mix packets. But Alaska/Horizon Airlines offers free samples of local Northwest wineries, so I had a glass... at 9am. Hey! I wasn't driving! :-)
Anyway, I'm only up a couple of pounds, and last weekend on the Vancouver trip, I gained 3, so I think I'm doing fine.
I told myself I'd be getting back into a regular gym schedule soon, but today isn't the day. Where's my motivation? If I could visualize myself with toned arms and butt, it would be different. But I still don't even see the weight loss so much when I look in the mirror, so the importance of toning hasn't hit me yet. But it will. Eventually, I'll be tired of looking at my little flying squirrel wings, and feel the need to start lifting weights. I'm just feeling lazy these days. No excuses, just lazy.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Back from Vancouver.
Happy Birthday to my Mom! The big 8-0! I can only hope to live as long... and I know she's got quite a few years left in her! Go MOM!!
My sister and I had a wonderful trip to Vancouver, WA. The visit was awesome! And the shopping and restaurants were a blast!
I left weighing 176, and when I returned, I weighed 179. Ugh. But it happens. No biggy. Five days later, and I'm back to my 176. But this weekend will be another challenge. My son and I are flying out tomorrow morning for a quick overnight in California for my Mom's 80th birthday party. I imagine the caterer has made some delicious treats, and I'm just going to have to limit myself.
While in Vancouver, my sister and I tried to be good. But how do you say no to fabulous Mexican food at Cathedral Restaurant, the meatball sandwich at "The Rock", and home cooked breakfast made by a veteran Air Force chef??!! My cousin is so wonderful on so many different levels, and his cooking is top notch!
Saturday night, he made a huge dinner! We all had our choice of baked chicken or filet mignon, and all the veggies we could eat! All that, plus a variety of wines on the table made for a meal to remember.
I suppose I'm lucky we did enough walking on our shopping trips. I don't think we were idle one minute. Coming home to only a three lb gain was expected, and manageable.
Now, back to work. I should really try to get back to my 1-pound a week schedule... I'd like to see 170 by my 47th birthday... and it's coming up the end of next month!
My sister and I had a wonderful trip to Vancouver, WA. The visit was awesome! And the shopping and restaurants were a blast!
I left weighing 176, and when I returned, I weighed 179. Ugh. But it happens. No biggy. Five days later, and I'm back to my 176. But this weekend will be another challenge. My son and I are flying out tomorrow morning for a quick overnight in California for my Mom's 80th birthday party. I imagine the caterer has made some delicious treats, and I'm just going to have to limit myself.
While in Vancouver, my sister and I tried to be good. But how do you say no to fabulous Mexican food at Cathedral Restaurant, the meatball sandwich at "The Rock", and home cooked breakfast made by a veteran Air Force chef??!! My cousin is so wonderful on so many different levels, and his cooking is top notch!
Saturday night, he made a huge dinner! We all had our choice of baked chicken or filet mignon, and all the veggies we could eat! All that, plus a variety of wines on the table made for a meal to remember.
I suppose I'm lucky we did enough walking on our shopping trips. I don't think we were idle one minute. Coming home to only a three lb gain was expected, and manageable.
Now, back to work. I should really try to get back to my 1-pound a week schedule... I'd like to see 170 by my 47th birthday... and it's coming up the end of next month!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Portland Bound!
Well, this morning I weighed, and I'm still sticking right at 176. Hopefully, after this weekend, I'll still be at that weight. I don't anticipate losing anything over the weekend, but maintaining should be easy enough. But I hear my cousin is a great cook... and Portland has quite a few awesome restaurants... Hmmm. :-)
I'll be back on Monday with a complete epicurean review. I'll give a run-down of my meals, and maybe even some ideas for new recipes. You never know what I might come home with!
I'll be back on Monday with a complete epicurean review. I'll give a run-down of my meals, and maybe even some ideas for new recipes. You never know what I might come home with!
Monday, September 13, 2010
Dress shopping.
I suppose I should make up for lost time! Too many days went by during September when I didn't get anything posted. That's so odd for me, because honestly, everyday there is something that happens or something I hear or see that affects me. So many diet-related circumstances...
This weekend, I'm going on a road trip with my sister. From Boise, Portland is a seven hour drive. We'll leave on Thursday, and come back Sunday. She and I are both watching what we eat, so this won't be one of those road trip like we used to take. No bags of chips, and packages of cookies. No Quick-Mart stops for big energy drinks or Starbuck's Mocha Smoothies.
We'll be on our best behavior. And when we get to Portland to our cousin's house, we'll have to be careful not to get into that vacation mode. That always trips me up. Being in a different place with different food choices. So fun to taste, but difficult to monitor.
The following week, my son and I will fly off for a weekend in California. Considering the reason for the trip, I might find myself eating off schedule. My Mother's 80th birthday party will be on the 25th, and that will be a sit-down dinner, so there's little chance of over eating there. But other than that, I'll plan on carrying a couple of 100 calorie bars with me in my purse. My son likes those, too, so we should be set for the weekend.
In preparation for my two jet-set weekends, I decided to do a little shopping, but the first thing I had to do was purge my closet... again.
Out went the t-shirts I've been hanging onto. For so many years, my casual attire consisted of men's jeans, big t-shirts, over-sized sweaters, and sweats. Holy cow.
Now, my closet is mostly devoid of those items. These days, my closet has sweet little tops with lace and satin bows. There are button-up blouses and cute cardigans. These days, if I own something with spandex, it's because the spandex/cotton mix hugs the curves, and these days, the curves aren't so bad!
Back in the day, the spandex clothes were a necessity. Without stretch, I wouldn't have been able to fit into a lot of my clothes.
Those big spandex pull-over tops are next to go. At this point, they are somewhat of a crutch, but I don't need them anymore, and they'll be in the Goodwill box soon.
So once my closet was thinned out, it was time to update the wardrobe again. Considering I don't have any dresses that fit, aside from a couple of 1990 Spiegel Catalog numbers, I decided to hit up Ross and TJ Maxx. I can't go to my Mom's special party in an ill-fitting denim dress circa 1997, now can I?
Going to TJ Maxx first was so much fun! With me, there was Bunna. Nice to have him along to give me the boyfriend point of view. With us went his sister, and their mother. They both have great taste, and it was an honor to have them help me pick something out.
The problem is, I wasn't considering the time of day of my Mom's party. It's an afternoon affair, ending at 7 pm, so the cocktail dresses we were picking out weren't going to be appropriate. But that didn't stop us from loading the cart with 10+ dresses and putting on a fashion show for Bunna! :-)
I was so happy with everything I put on. Some were size 14, some were size 12, and there was even one size 10 that fit, although it was a stretchy spandex blend. I came home with three top choices, but I wasn't done looking yet.
The next day, on a whim, I stopped in Ross to see what they had. I found so many, but came home with another three. Uh oh... time to make a decision.
In my everyday life, there's not a lot of opportunity to wear dresses, so having six in my closet seemed overkill.
But even with six to choose from, I still didn't feel like I had found my dress. What I had were six contemporary dresses, ranging in wearability from cocktail parties, to work, to lunch with the girls. But none said, "Mother's Birthday Party" to me.
On a suggestion from Bunna's sister, I decided to go to Dillards yesterday morning. Their summer dresses are being clearanced out, and some were 70% off! That's my kind of sale!
It didn't take me a minute to see it. The fabric was perfect. The style was fabulous. It said "Garden Party" all over it!
I tried on 3 or 4, but my favorite kept smiling at me from the hook in the dressing room. It was meant to be. And at a markdown price! From $89 to $26! Perfect!
So now, I have my party dress. What a relief. I realized that I had brought home so many dresses to begin with, because I was just so thrilled that they fit! How many years had it been since I could walk into a clothing store and grab a 12 or 14 off the rack, and have it fit like a dream? Way too long...
But honestly, I was like a kid in a candy store. So many dresses, all fitting and looking great. What an awesome trip to the store that was. The hour I spent in the TJ Maxx dressing room, with Kevin's family there to help me with sizes and opinions... it was just great. I'm thankful for the way they made me feel. I felt like myself again.
I'm looking forward to packing my bags this weekend, and next, with clothes that look good on me. I'll have a different attitude when I get dressed now. I'll have a lot less adjusting and posing, trying to make my clothes cover me. They don't have to just cover me anymore. Now my clothes can show my true personality.
And one more thing: I'm truly thankful that my job requires me to wear a uniform. Because otherwise, I could seriously see myself on a first name basis with the clerks at TJ Maxx.
This weekend, I'm going on a road trip with my sister. From Boise, Portland is a seven hour drive. We'll leave on Thursday, and come back Sunday. She and I are both watching what we eat, so this won't be one of those road trip like we used to take. No bags of chips, and packages of cookies. No Quick-Mart stops for big energy drinks or Starbuck's Mocha Smoothies.
We'll be on our best behavior. And when we get to Portland to our cousin's house, we'll have to be careful not to get into that vacation mode. That always trips me up. Being in a different place with different food choices. So fun to taste, but difficult to monitor.
The following week, my son and I will fly off for a weekend in California. Considering the reason for the trip, I might find myself eating off schedule. My Mother's 80th birthday party will be on the 25th, and that will be a sit-down dinner, so there's little chance of over eating there. But other than that, I'll plan on carrying a couple of 100 calorie bars with me in my purse. My son likes those, too, so we should be set for the weekend.
In preparation for my two jet-set weekends, I decided to do a little shopping, but the first thing I had to do was purge my closet... again.
Out went the t-shirts I've been hanging onto. For so many years, my casual attire consisted of men's jeans, big t-shirts, over-sized sweaters, and sweats. Holy cow.
Now, my closet is mostly devoid of those items. These days, my closet has sweet little tops with lace and satin bows. There are button-up blouses and cute cardigans. These days, if I own something with spandex, it's because the spandex/cotton mix hugs the curves, and these days, the curves aren't so bad!
Back in the day, the spandex clothes were a necessity. Without stretch, I wouldn't have been able to fit into a lot of my clothes.
Those big spandex pull-over tops are next to go. At this point, they are somewhat of a crutch, but I don't need them anymore, and they'll be in the Goodwill box soon.
So once my closet was thinned out, it was time to update the wardrobe again. Considering I don't have any dresses that fit, aside from a couple of 1990 Spiegel Catalog numbers, I decided to hit up Ross and TJ Maxx. I can't go to my Mom's special party in an ill-fitting denim dress circa 1997, now can I?
Going to TJ Maxx first was so much fun! With me, there was Bunna. Nice to have him along to give me the boyfriend point of view. With us went his sister, and their mother. They both have great taste, and it was an honor to have them help me pick something out.
The problem is, I wasn't considering the time of day of my Mom's party. It's an afternoon affair, ending at 7 pm, so the cocktail dresses we were picking out weren't going to be appropriate. But that didn't stop us from loading the cart with 10+ dresses and putting on a fashion show for Bunna! :-)
I was so happy with everything I put on. Some were size 14, some were size 12, and there was even one size 10 that fit, although it was a stretchy spandex blend. I came home with three top choices, but I wasn't done looking yet.
The next day, on a whim, I stopped in Ross to see what they had. I found so many, but came home with another three. Uh oh... time to make a decision.
In my everyday life, there's not a lot of opportunity to wear dresses, so having six in my closet seemed overkill.
But even with six to choose from, I still didn't feel like I had found my dress. What I had were six contemporary dresses, ranging in wearability from cocktail parties, to work, to lunch with the girls. But none said, "Mother's Birthday Party" to me.
On a suggestion from Bunna's sister, I decided to go to Dillards yesterday morning. Their summer dresses are being clearanced out, and some were 70% off! That's my kind of sale!
It didn't take me a minute to see it. The fabric was perfect. The style was fabulous. It said "Garden Party" all over it!
I tried on 3 or 4, but my favorite kept smiling at me from the hook in the dressing room. It was meant to be. And at a markdown price! From $89 to $26! Perfect!
So now, I have my party dress. What a relief. I realized that I had brought home so many dresses to begin with, because I was just so thrilled that they fit! How many years had it been since I could walk into a clothing store and grab a 12 or 14 off the rack, and have it fit like a dream? Way too long...
But honestly, I was like a kid in a candy store. So many dresses, all fitting and looking great. What an awesome trip to the store that was. The hour I spent in the TJ Maxx dressing room, with Kevin's family there to help me with sizes and opinions... it was just great. I'm thankful for the way they made me feel. I felt like myself again.
I'm looking forward to packing my bags this weekend, and next, with clothes that look good on me. I'll have a different attitude when I get dressed now. I'll have a lot less adjusting and posing, trying to make my clothes cover me. They don't have to just cover me anymore. Now my clothes can show my true personality.
And one more thing: I'm truly thankful that my job requires me to wear a uniform. Because otherwise, I could seriously see myself on a first name basis with the clerks at TJ Maxx.
Okay, hiatus is over.
I can't believe how long it's been since I last posted something! Where have I been? I suppose in the beginning of this lifestyle change, I was so on top of my blog, mostly because there were changes in my weight and size almost daily.
These days, I've slowed down so much in my loss that it takes a week before there is any change, and I've mostly just maintained my 80 lb loss for the last few weeks anyway. I've got 10 more to lose, and honestly, I've had so much fun losing the first 80, I just don't want it to end! :-)
The last few weeks have been full of changes, dietetically speaking. I've experimented with baking low-cal, and had some absolute cheat days. It feels good to go out to dinner and order something great, and know I'm not doomed to a 5 lbs gain the next day.
During the month of August, there was my family reunion. Lots of snacks and treats everywhere. But I got out of that with only a 3 lbs gain, which I tackled when I got home.
Labor Day weekend was our annual cabin trip. For the 6 of us, I made stew one night for dinner, and breakfast burritos and pancakes the next morning. My good friend whose family shares these trips to the cabin with us, was in charge of lunch and dinner on Saturday.
She made a delicious tamale pie for lunch, and bbq chicken sandwiches for dinner.
Between all the meals, there were snacks. Mostly we brought the snacks for the kids, who tend to burn a lot of energy out in the woods. But don't think I didn't have a brownie or two, and one or three cookies. I justified it by reminding myself that the hiking would compensate for the extra calories. Fresh air burns calories, too, right? :-)
Anyway, home from the cabin, and my weight was still stabile.
I'm coming in at around 177 these days. My lowest during this diet change has been 175, but that wasn't solid weight loss. For the past couple of weeks, I've bounced up and down about 2 pounds, keeping it between about 176 and 179. I couldn't ask for more. But in order to lose the final 10 lbs, I'll have to go back to square one: one hundred calorie snacks every 2 hours, and a close watch on that 300 calorie dinner.
These days, I've slowed down so much in my loss that it takes a week before there is any change, and I've mostly just maintained my 80 lb loss for the last few weeks anyway. I've got 10 more to lose, and honestly, I've had so much fun losing the first 80, I just don't want it to end! :-)
The last few weeks have been full of changes, dietetically speaking. I've experimented with baking low-cal, and had some absolute cheat days. It feels good to go out to dinner and order something great, and know I'm not doomed to a 5 lbs gain the next day.
During the month of August, there was my family reunion. Lots of snacks and treats everywhere. But I got out of that with only a 3 lbs gain, which I tackled when I got home.
Labor Day weekend was our annual cabin trip. For the 6 of us, I made stew one night for dinner, and breakfast burritos and pancakes the next morning. My good friend whose family shares these trips to the cabin with us, was in charge of lunch and dinner on Saturday.
She made a delicious tamale pie for lunch, and bbq chicken sandwiches for dinner.
Between all the meals, there were snacks. Mostly we brought the snacks for the kids, who tend to burn a lot of energy out in the woods. But don't think I didn't have a brownie or two, and one or three cookies. I justified it by reminding myself that the hiking would compensate for the extra calories. Fresh air burns calories, too, right? :-)
Anyway, home from the cabin, and my weight was still stabile.
I'm coming in at around 177 these days. My lowest during this diet change has been 175, but that wasn't solid weight loss. For the past couple of weeks, I've bounced up and down about 2 pounds, keeping it between about 176 and 179. I couldn't ask for more. But in order to lose the final 10 lbs, I'll have to go back to square one: one hundred calorie snacks every 2 hours, and a close watch on that 300 calorie dinner.
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