Yum!

New obsession: smoothies!!
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Sunday Diet Update.

Weigh-in = 256.6
DOWN 1.6 pounds since last week!!
DOWN 75.4 POUNDS!***

***I finally hit the 75lb mark. This is very exciting!

I am on track for making my goal, exactly. I am not ahead. I am a little nervous because goal date is next week! I need to do everything I can to make goal early (1.6 more pounds!) and maintain it for the rest of the week.

I have also realized that I never made goals for this week. Whoops. It's lucky for me, though, because I was ragging this past week and didn't do much of anything.

For the next week I want to really work on my calories and get a couple workouts in.

Clothes.

I am halfway through going through my "too small" clothes. A lot of this stuff, besides other times going through the "too small" bags, I haven't seen in 7-8 years. I should say I haven't successfully worn...

I'm getting a lot of clothes that fit again! Woo. I'm also getting a lot of clothes that went right from being too small to being too big.

From now on, everytime I drop into a new 10lb range, I will try the clothes on again.

So, when I drop under 250 I will try them on again. Under 240, try them on again... etc, etc etc. I can't imagine I will have ANYTHING left once I am under 230.

I am sure I will post again to brag once I am out of "too small" clothes.

Planned Cheat Days

Every once in awhile I have "planned cheat days". Yesterday was one of them.

I do not want to take these days away from myself. As long as they are few and far between, I think it is OK with a few "ground rules". Would you guys agree? My thing is that with my allergies, I miss out on SO MUCH already. Why should I miss special occasions?

I had a "planned cheat day" yesterday, and I did not gain today. I am pretty happy about that.

So... holidays, vacations, and the rare trip away from home. Does that sound fair? Also maybe birthdays or other restaurant celebrations. These would happen only once every few weeks IF EVEN. In July's case it would be 4th of July and vacation, which would be a weeklong event. But but but, for vacation I would also be swimming for hours everyday, so I am not worried about weight gain.

Rules would be...

#1 Don't eat more than you are hungry for. This means, seriously consider going back for seconds.
#2 Still make healthy decisions, even if the calories aren't being counted. This means 2% cheese, eggbeaters vs. eggs, low-fat vs. full fat, etc etc etc. This will especially matter on vacation. I still plan to enjoy a couple of my mother's fried eggs, but I will be packing the eggbeaters so I will still have healthy options to choose from.
#3 Don't pig out. This is a repeat of rule number one, but my biggest downfall is always eating my way into a stomachache that lasts for days. I don't have any regret today for yesterday, even though honestly I probably ate 3000 calories. I didn't pig out.

That's all, folks.

Sunday Diet Update!

Weigh-in = 258.2
DOWN 2 pounds since last week!!
DOWN 73.8 pounds since I started last summer.

GOALS FROM LAST WEEK:
#1 Try again to bring Wii Fit clock up to 10:00hrs. -- Totally failed. Totally.
#2 Bring daily calories down to 1725 for regular days. -- Absolutely achieved.
#3 Keep rounding up on the calories. I think I can do better, though I am on the right track. -- Pretty much achieved.

I am back on track for making my goal.

Also, YAY for being back on track to make my 7/19 goal of 255lbs. I want to be at the lowest weight possible when I go on vacation on 7/24. I will be seeing a lot of people I haven't seen in a very, very long time... and yes, I want to feed my ego. I won't even lie about it.

I am including my weight-loss goal chart and my body measurements chart. I don't think I have been taking measurements long enough to really know if I am shrinking. I think it will be months before the daily fluctuations and changes in measuring spots evens out and a downward trend can really be visible.

:D

Today my calories are pretty low. I'm at 732 and it is 7pm and I am not hungry. I think that I will probably get home around 10pm tonight and have a small snack and go right to bed.

Tomorrow is "spike day", which is good since I have planned a big day of eating. My friend Ashley and her boyfriend are coming over for the 4th. We are doing burgers and baked beans and all sorts of stuff.

I made a gluten-free ice cream cake!

I packed the bottom and sides of a spring-form pan with a crust made of cocoa crispies, butter, and marshmallows. Then I loaded it with Mayflower Rocky Road ice cream, which is soy-free, peanut-free, and gluten-free. I made a layer in the middle of Hershey's Syrup and Enjoy Life chocolate chips.

It will all be topped with Light Cool Whip, marshmallows, chocolate chips, and chocolate syrup drizzle.

Yummo!

Back on Track!

Reasons

Another weight-loss blog that I read says that it is important to write a list of reasons for losing weight, and review it often.

Here is my list, which I plan on adding to:

#1 So that I don't have to exclude myself from activities that I can't keep up with.
#2 So that I never have to worry about being too heavy for a chair or an amusement park ride.
#3 So that I can be more attractive to the man who loves me.
#4 So that I can buy more clothes more often and look good in them.
#5 So that I can have more confidence.
#6 So that I can succeed at work.

Woo!!!

Cause for celebration!

Today I am down to 259! I haven't been in the 250s in... oh, God, I don't remember EVER being there, though clearly I must have been at some point on my way up.

4lbs to my vacation goal!

Awh

I am going to miss having her as my boss!
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So nice!

I am so happy about my plants growing so big!
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Sunday Diet Update

Weigh-in = 260.2
DOWN 1.4 pounds since last week!!
DOWN 71.8 pounds since I started last July.

Now, I want to mention again that I had three VERY bad days this week. My weight spiked over twelve pounds and I was in such total pain that I could NOT work out or do anything much other than complain.

GOALS FROM LAST WEEK:
#1 Bring my Wii Fit clock up to 10:00hrs. Right now it is at about 5:00hrs. -- totally unachieved. I have an excuse for three or four days, but other than that I just didn't get it done.
#2 Begin rounding up on everything I eat. This means leveling off every scoop or cup, or adding extra food to my food log to make up for it. -- mostly achieved, but I can work harder on that.
#3 Lower regular calorie days to 1750. -- One day I got depressed and ate an extra two hundred calories. Besides that, and my spike days, I kept it under 1750.

GOALS FOR THIS WEEK:
#1 Try again to bring Wii Fit clock up to 10:00hrs.
#2 Bring daily calories down to 1725 for regular days.
#3 Keep rounding up on the calories. I think I can do better, though I am on the right track.

Also, I wanted to say that I am technically NOT on track to make my goal, but I am VERY close. For this reason, even though my "rule" is to adjust my goal if I am not acieving for two straight weeks, I am going to stick with it.

Here is a chart to show you just how close:

Dirty Bird

She's a nasty bird, but she is MY nasty bird.

Please disregard my gross voice. I wish I could say I sound better in real life...

Doctor's Appointment

I went to the doctor today. It's been a really long time since I have gotten to sit down and talk to a doctor about the things that plague me. Maybe it sounds stupid, but I have felt the last few years as though I haven't earned the right to fix what ails me. Like I don't deserve health like people who never fell in the pit do.

I won't let myself feel that way anymore. From now on, I am keeping up with my yearly appointments... be it pap smears, neurologist check-ups, etc. I am even going to schedule a dentist appointment once I am back on my feet money-wise.

Anyway, I had a few things to talk to my doctor about:

#1 -- I hadn't had a "female" exam in three years. I haven't been on any birth control, and that needed to be remedied. Result: Pap smear done, and with my next period I will begin on birth control again. This isn't just for mindless sex (ha, ha) but it is just good for an adult female to be on the pill. It has a lot of other benefits. My period is HORRIBLE so I am looking forward to the next one (after the one coming up) being much, much better.

#2 -- My allergies have been very bad. I have been waking up in the morning with blood-red eyes and wheeziness, on top of other symptoms. She got me Singulair for that and said to switch from OTC Claritin to Zyrtec.

#3 -- I talked to her about my asthma. It has been getting bad when I work out. I have been scared to talk about it, because it feels like an excuse or like something I "can't prove". Since I said is happening frequently she gave me a daily inhaler AND a rescue inhaler. Sweet.

#4 -- I talked about my constant urination. She checked my bladder and said it was fine, so she is taking me in for more testing. Also, they are going to take care of my blood tests for my neurologists. I thought that was so nice of them! Yay! I am going back next Friday after a fast, and then coming back for a follow-up appointment after the tests. I think she didn't want to worry me, but she listed some serious things it could be and said she wants to rule them out.

So, that's that's that.

Good News

I peed off 12 pounds last night.

Yesterday at work, I was freaking myself out with my need to urinate every 30 minutes. I mean having to go BAD. Bad as in, it hurts to wait. I drink a LOT of water, usually about six bottled waters a day, and my cube-mates always tease me for excusing myself to go to the ladies room every hour, but it was excessive even for me. For those of you, like my mother, who hear that and think something is wrong -- nothing is wrong. I have ALWAYS been like that. Anyway, though, yesterday was excessive even for me. During the day I deliriously wondered if I was peeing weight off, but I still FELT huge. I came home and immediately stripped down to my underpants and weighed myself and was still right at 272. I was depressed, and I ate some cocoa crispies and passed out on the couch.

When I dragged myself off the couch and went to bed at 9pm, I was still at 272.

I got up and peed at least once an hour until I woke up at 6am. I slept a little sounder each time I went back to bed, since everytime I weighed myself before going back to bed I weighed a little bit less.

Now, I am still not on track to make my goal of 255 by 6/19... but I'd take that over a ten pound gain ANY day of the week.

Sorry to freak my readers out, and Mer, I am especially sorry to you for crying on your shoulder.

Ten-Plus Pounds

I have gained more than ten pounds in the last three days.

I am also constipated, but I don't think I could have gained ten pounds from erratic BMs. I am so confused and upset. I feel out of control, but I have NOT been bad. I haven't been. Tonight I said "eff it" and went to eat my sorrows away... but I caught myself and stopped at 1875 calories... only about 125 over goal, so it could have been worse.

Has this ever happened to anyone else?

Sunday Diet Update

Weigh-in = 261.6
DOWN 0.8 pound since last week!!
DOWN 70.4 since I started my weight-loss journey. Finally can say 70lbs!

The bad news is that I didn't even lose a whole pound this week. My weight had gone up and then back down this week, so the number looked low until I actually compared it with last week's weigh in and realized that it was less than a pound. Also, as of this morning I am not on track to make my goal. I am not horribly far off, but I am not on track. That's not acceptable. Something has to change.

I have not done my measurements. I will make a separate post about my measurements once I have taken them, but I forgot and got dressed this morning and don't have time to get undressed again before leaving for work.

GOALS FROM LAST WEEK:
#1 Lower regular calorie days to 1799 (rather than 1814). This does NOT include spike days. -- Achieved. I also only spiked once, because yesterday I just woke up too late and was out too much to meet my calorie limit, let alone spike past it. I may spike today, instead.
#2 Make my spike days higher-calorie and/or fat or just a higher volume of food but DO NOT BE A PIG. -- Achieved! The fact that I SKIPPED A SPIKE DAY speaks for itself.
#3 Work Out. Honor your 30 Day Shred obligation when the DVD arrives (tomorrow?). -- 30 Day Shred didn't arrive as planned, but I still worked out. I did NOT work out as long as I should have, though. Friday I worked out for 2 hours, but a few days I didn't even work out at all. I will say, though, that I am STILL SORE from working out!

GOALS FOR THIS WEEK:
#1 Bring my Wii Fit clock up to 10:00hrs. Right now it is at about 5:00hrs.
#2 Begin rounding up on everything I eat. This means leveling off every scoop or cup, or adding extra food to my food log to make up for it.
#3 Lower regular calorie days to 1750.




Questions for my readers:
#1 Do you have a blog I have never commented on? Please reply and let me know. If I have commented it most likely means I have you bookmarked, and I check my bookmarked blogs every day or two.
#2 What goals do you set for yourself every week?
#3 What is your weight, goal weight, and calorie intake goal?

Look what Mike bought me! I think I earned it. I wanted an mp3 player for the 32 hr drive to and from New Hampshire next month. It should be here on Monday!

Promotion!

I didn't post about this originally, because I didn't want to share my stress with my readers and I didn't want to have to post about rejection if it happened, but... I applied for a "pro" position at work a month ago. I interviewed two and a half weeks ago and have been extremely stressed out ever since then. I had interviewed for the position in the past and been rejected, so I was very nervous. I knew that if I didn't get it, it would mean a rough couple months (at the very least) ahead, because I have been getting burned out on my job and just wouldn't handle the rejection well because I would only have myself to blame. I had a good feeling after the interview, but was worried because I WAS nervous and was scared that they could tell. But I also felt good after the interview when I was rejected, so I didn't put much stock in my own reflections! But to make a story that is already too long short, I was offered the promotion yesterday and jumped on it. It will be a 15% raise, which is awesome, and it is a position that will be a much, much better opportunity for advancement in the future. I also think that I will be happier with the change. I am not sure when I will get to start, because there are a few issues with covering the queues I answer. (The entire call center is trained to answer certain queues, but then there are other queues where additional training is required... I am trained on additional queues, so they will need to train other agents before they can afford to lose me during those time slots.) There is also my vacation coming up in July and I begged them to work around it so that I don't have to worry about it.

So, that's where I am today. It's my day off and I can actually completely relax. I have some errands to run. Last Friday I took Mike's guitar to a shop in Statesville to get it fixed for his birthday, and today I am going to go pick it up. I also have a great coupon for Kohl's and Mike got a gift card for Christmas that he never used, so I am going to go stop by there and find some clothes for him. I may also look at bathing suits. I also was hoping to go to Winston-Salem tonight and go to Target and Ed McKay's, the awesome used book store. I also have plans to lift weights at Brian's, but I am going to ask if he would like to go to Winston with me instead. If he says no, though, I am going to honor my obligation to work out! (If he said yes, just FYI, I am still planning on getting a private workout in today!)

How is everyone else doing on this Friday?