A contest of sorts

My husband politely reminded me yesterday that it has been a week since my last blog. It is true, I am slipping. Not for a bad reason though, I just don't really have any new news to report - especially since I won't be weighing in until next Monday. Memorial Day weekend was not so good on the food or exercise front, however I didn't do too bad. I know I went over my 1200 calories per day, however I don't think I went that far over. There was virtually no exercising other than a 15 minute wog (walk/jog) on Saturday. I had to stop after 15 minutes because I was having some issues with my right shoulder and it hurt to move it at all. I didn't obsess about my not-so-great weekend though, I just got right back to it this week. I am trying to keep my calories between 1000 and 1200 and I did an hour of aerobics last night and will go again tonight. I really pushed myself last night. They have variations on about everything that lets you work out at a low or high impact. Essentially the difference is how much you are jumping and moving. You can simply do stepping or you can do hopping. I try to push myself and do as much high impact as possible and it showed with my sweating last night! I bet I burned at least 500 calories during the hour and I felt absolutely wonderful when I was finished. I told Jason last night that the first time I went to the class I was embarrassed about how much I was sweating - I think I sweat more than most people, and my face gets really red very quickly when I am hot, I think it has something to do with blood vessels or something - anyway, I was embarrassed but then I told myself that sweating is good, and why pay the money to half-ass it? If I don't push myself to the point that it hurts, then I am not going to lose the weight I want to. Not to mention, the harder you push yourself, the stronger you will become - and not just physically.

I had an idea for a post today because I didn't think I had anything else to blog about today, hence the title of this post. So, without further ado, the "contest." As you know, I have not weighed myself since May 1 and I am scheduled to weigh in on Monday. I have absolutely no idea how the numbers on the scale will look. My question to you is - how many pounds do you think I have shed this month? Leave me a comment with the number you think it will be, and there will be some sort of prize for you. I am not exactly sure what that prize will be yet, but it will be something. And, since I don't know the answer yet either, I am eligible to win as well :) My guess is 7.4 pounds.

Well, yesterday was my Cedar Point trip with my family and we had a great time. It was nice spending a day with them, even though it was unusually hot and the lines were much longer than what I like. They weren't too bad for CP I guess, we waited on average a half hour for each ride, except Maverick which was over an hour and so not worth it in my opinion. J and I even got on the Millennium Force for a second ride before we left and got the front seats - it was awesome. Not only was the ride just as good (or better) the second time around, but feeling I got from sitting in that seat and buckling myself in was great too. This is the ride that I almost didn't fit on two years ago. The one that states that all riders must be able to secure their own lap belts, and if you can't, then you will be humiliated in front of everyone in line by having to get up out of your seat, and walk in shame to the exit, while it is publicly confirmed to everyone standing there that you are too fat. The ride that while standing in line, all I could think about was how worried I was that I wouldn't fit, I was terrified actually. Well that didn't happen to me this year, nor did it come close. I sat down in my seat, expanded the belt as far as I could (like I always do) and buckled it - no problem. Then, I pulled the belt out away from my lap - and there were INCHES (I am talking 4-5 inches) between the belt and me. This is the same belt that just two years ago was digging into my fat, cutting off my circulation. It was such a good feeling.

MIA

I just realized I haven't blogged in quite a while. No reason really other than just not having anything new to mention. Cedar Point is tomorrow - YAY! Still doing aerobics and keeping to my plan as best as possible. This weekend wasn't great, but it wasn't that bad either. Other than that, nothing new. Just waiting another 12 days to weigh in!

Only 6 days...

Until we go to Cedar Point. I am really looking forward to it, not only for the obvious reasons of fun rides and a day off work, but also as a stepping stone and reward for myself. See, two years ago when I went to Cedar Point I came so close to probably the worst embarrassment of my life. We waited in line for the first seats on the Millennium Force, sat down, and I couldn't get my seat belt to fasten. It wouldn't fit around me. They have a policy that you must fasten your seat belt yourself, and if you can't, then you can't ride. I made it as big as possible and struggled, struggled, struggled until it finally clipped, and it was cutting into me, but it was fastened. I would have been mortified had I not gotten it clipped because I would have had to get up in front of all those people in line and leave the ride, all because I was too fat to ride it. I said then that I wouldn't go back to Cedar Point until I had lost some weight, even just a little, so I wouldn't have to worry about that again. So, now we are going back next Tuesday. I am in a sense rewarding myself for losing weight by going, and having a wonderful day with some of my family. It will also be a stepping stone for me; when I see that I can *hopefully* easily fasten the seat belt and *hopefully* even have some slack. It will be like the day I finally fit into my green dress and it looked great on me, or the day that I took the picture with Starr and there was no double chin. Just one of those great victories that keep me going on the path that will lead me where I want to be.

Anyway, went to aerobics last night - had a blast! We had a different instructor and this lady was crazy! She was so much fun and really got us into it. I was sweating like a pig but didn't feel too bad this time because I noticed others were sweating, even the instructor. I didn't get up this morning to do anything because of the good workout last night and because I am going again tonight and I believe the same instructor will be there. Calories were good yesterday - 1212: blueberry muffin, fruit parfait, chicken wrap, English muffin with jelly, Dirusso's turkey sausage, green bean fries and dessert. I also drank 140 oz of water again.

Aerobics

Well I went to aerobics last night - it was great! I had a lot of fun - much more than being on the treadmill. It was an hour long so I got an hour and 20 minutes of exercise in yesterday. I took this morning off but will do the tm and aerobics both Wednesday and Thursday and then aerobics on Saturday morning, which will give me a total of almost 5 hours this week which should be good. If it is nice on Sunday morning, I might take a nice 3 mile walk with the poochers (she has some weight to lose too!). Food wise I did great yesterday, ate only what I had planned which was: blueberry muffin, oatmeal, fajita, whole wheat english muffin with a little jelly and butter, a protein drink, turkey burger, a few crackers, and mint chocolate chip pie for a total of about 1250 calories. Oh, and I drank 140 oz water.

Great Day! I can't wait for my weigh-in!!!

May 11 - Day 11

Wow, 11 days into this plan already - it's not that bad really, especially because I am not following it very well :( I do great during the week, really great actually as far as food goes. I haven't been working out at the intensity that I want to, nor as much as I want to. The end of last week started to lag and I only did 15 minutes on Wednesday and 10 on Thursday and nothing on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. We were just busy busy busy this weekend, constantly running around, well except for the two hours on Saturday that I was napping. Food during the week last week was good, again until the weekend came. Friday night we had fajitas at Jeff and Shannin's, which was healthy, but I also had some baked tortillas - not too bad, and I drank four MGD 64 beers. Saturday wasn't too bad either, other than the wine I had, and Sunday was lots of sampling which I am sure added up. Really though, it wasn't like we were eating Taco Bell and Wedgewood or anything and I am sure my calories didn't go above 2000 so it wasn't horrible. I did get on the tm this morning at 5 am and did 20 minutes and really pushed myself. I got 210 calories burned which is a record for me at 20 minutes. I did a lot of jogging and then the 6-7-8 mph thing again. Tonight is our first aerobics class - yay!!!

So anyway, I am still feeling good about the plan and think it will work. I just can't wait to see what the scale says in 21 days!

Warning: This gets personal and, well, gross

Okay, everything is still going well. I am staying in my calories, sticking to my plan, drinking tons of water and have exercised every day except Sunday. Here is my question - should I check my weight on the 15th of the month just to make sure everything is working properly? That would give me two solid weeks into my plan. I really wanted to wait until the end of the month but I am worried and here is why. I am warning you now, this will get sooooo gross. As you know, I have a problem with, umm, irregularity. It has now been 6 days of nothing. I have been eating between 25-30 grams of fiber each day that comes from fiber one cereal, fruits, vegetables, etc. I have drank a minimum of 100 oz of water per day. I have jogged every day except Sunday and still nothing. When I ate fast food all the time I didn't have this problem, at least not this much time between occurrences. When I asked my doctor about it, she said to lower my fiber (what?) and give it 6 more weeks. Is it just me, or does this seem a little ridiculous? I need to go to the bathroom regularly - period. Do you know how upset and discouraged I will be if I do all this extremely hard work for a month and lose 2-3 pounds??? What is happening with all the food I am putting into my body? You can't tell me that for the last 6 days my body has used it all and I have had no waste. My stomach hurts after almost every meal, I have been taking gas pills basically every day to get rid of the pain, and I constantly feel bloated. At what point do I find someone else to talk to? Who should I see - a nutritionist, a dietitian, a specialty doctor, or should I head back to my old family doctor in Salem? Should I just try an otc laxative? Those scare me because this isn't just a one-time problem, this is something I have had problems with for a while and I don't want my body to require the laxative to do what it is supposed to do naturally.

As you can tell, I am getting a little irritable, probably because of the toxins that are stuck in my body. I am still 100% focused on my plan and I really think it will work, but only if the rest of my body cooperates. So - my question to you is, should I check my weight on the 15th to see how it is going?

Happy Cinco de Mayo

Had another really good day yesterday. Drank TONS of water, hit the treadmill, ate all of my scheduled food and managed to stay awake until 10! We made these chicken wraps last night that were YUMMY! We found a tortilla called La Tortilla Factory and each one is only 90 calories and it is actually a very large tortilla. Usually the small, soft taco size ones are about 100 calories and I have to eat 3 to be full. These were really soft too, didn't even need to warm them up. I think I might bring one for lunch tomorrow actually. We have some turkey breast so I might try that. Anyway, I got up again this morning at 4:48 am and got on the treadmill. I decided to "take it easy" today and do some 3.5 mph walking at an incline of 10 - okay, so that wasn't taking it so easy. It is really difficult! My heart rate wasn't as high as when I jog, but my legs were a burnin! Five minutes was all I could take for that, then I went back to jogging. I got my 200 calories burned in just under 20 minutes today.

I know there was something else I wanted to comment on today too, but I just can't remember right now. If it comes to me, I will do another post today.

Day 4

Day 4 and everything is going GREAT!!! I got up at 4:50 this morning and did about 23 minutes on the treadmill and burned 200 calories. I need to remember to get my mileage at the end so I can calculate my average speed. I did the first 3-4-5-6 set and then did 3-5-6, 3-3-6-6, walked a bit, did another 6-6, walked three minutes then did 30 seconds each at 6-7-8 --yes I did 8 mph!!! I finished off with a couple minutes at 3 just to get me to 200 calories burned. I can't believe I had the courage to hit the 8 button. Now, granted, I only did it for 30 seconds, but that was after doing a minute of 6 and 7 mph. Man was I moving at 8 though. I probably looked like I was running from a vicious dog or something. I have drank 3-20 oz bottles of water so far, and am getting ready to get another after this blog. So far, so good.

This weekend was really a success for both J and me. We both do so well during the week, only to "blow" it on the weekend. Not this weekend though. I had my plan and even though I didn't completely stick to it because things come up and plans get changed, we did very well. I stayed within or below my calories every day, I bought 64 calorie beer and drank two of those rather than two glasses of 200 calorie wine, and I got on the treadmill on Saturday and burned 200 calories in 20 minutes even though I was extremely tired and exhausted and all I wanted to do was take a nap. We tried some new food over the weekend as well, some good and some not-so good. We had hot boneless buffalo wings on Saturday that were pretty tasty and some decent pancakes for breakfast yesterday. Lunch was ehhh okay with a turkey reuban quesadilla. We found fat free chocolate milk that is WONDERFUL - it is called Over the Moon. I made really good blueberry muffins that are only 137 calories each to have for breakfast this week along with some oatmeal concoction that is also delicious and only 179 for a bowl of it. I made 210 calorie pot pie for lunch this week. All kinds of stuff. Sunday was spent chopping, cutting, measuring, cooking and baking - my kind of day! Oh - and I drank lots of water this weekend which is a first for me. And we got our new refrigerator! Dad is coming up tomorrow or Wednesday to hook up our water line so we will have filtered water and ice - finally!

One last thing I want to mention was a realization I had this weekend. And I just want to say, before I start this that I am in no way trying to upset anyone or saying that what happened was wrong or rude or anything like that. This is completely a reflection on myself and what I have noticed about myself and how I have changed. On Saturday, we were helping my sister in law move and I was at her old house with her and my mom in law. I don't know how it came up, but I said something about how skinny mom's legs are. My sister in law said something like, "yeah, doesn't it make you sick how skinny she is?" Again, I am not saying there is anything wrong with what she said. It just got me thinking. A year ago I would have said the same thing. A year ago, I would have made comments on how people who have lost weight make me sick that they look so good, or that I was jealous or whatever. I don't feel that way anymore though. I look at mom and see encouragement, not only from the actual encouragement that she gives me all the time, but also encouragement from her journey. She worked very hard to get to where she is, she made sacrifices and changed her life to make this happen for her. I look up to her for that and I am very proud of her for it. (J is another one that falls into this category). Unless someone has had to do it for themselves, they don't know what it's like and until I got serious about my life change, I didn't know what it was like. Sure, I lost 10 pounds here and there but always gained it right back. And then after I gained it back I complained about being fat again and how skinny people make me sick, all the while I was shoving Taco Bell and Wedgewood pizza in my mouth. It is just such a big attitude change for me. Rather than envy those that look good, I look up to them for all their hard work and dedication to achieve something that they want.

May 1 - Day 1

Well, I did it, I got up at 4:50 am and got on the treadmill. I do not know how people do this! I am hoping it will get easier as the days go on. Getting up that early really wasn't the problem. The problem was getting my body moving that quickly that early. I didn't follow my treadmill plan exactly, because after the 2nd - yes only the 2nd - rep I thought I was going to die. Okay, so maybe not die but definitely throw up. Here's how it went - minute 1 at 3 mph, fine, no biggie, like walking to the car. Minute two at 4 mph - not bad, but I felt like one of those old people at the mall speed walking. Minute 3 at 5 mph - that is better, I think it may be easier to jog slowly than to walk quickly. Minute 4 at 6 mph - gettin out of breath but not too bad. Ahh, minute 5 at 3 mph - much better - then oh God, here comes 4 mph - get through it and on to minute 7 at 5 mph, about half way though I didn't know if I would make it. Then minute 8 at 6 mph - I really had to push on this one and when minute 9 came I hit that 3mph faster than I thought I could. I actually had to get off the treadmill for a minute and just sit. I did get right back on though and walked at 3 mph for about 10 minutes before doing another rep of 4 minutes. I was dripping with sweat like I have never dripped before. It was actually running down my face. I went outside and stretched while the dogs did their thing. The cool air felt so good. Then, I wanted to go back to bed - so I got in the shower. So, that is may day so far. I have gotten 2 bottles of water in which isn't bad because it isn't even 8 am yet. I am really hungry, I am assuming because of the workout, so I think I will eat my banana at 8 rather than 8:30. The rest of my day looks like this:

8(30) - 16 oz water and banana
10 - 16 oz water and yogurt
12 - water and salad
3 - 16 oz water and kiwi
4:30 - 16 oz water
6 - water and dinner - if we go to Chili's I will have the carne asada steak, seasoned veggies and broccoli cheddar soup - YUMMY!

Total calories - 1076