future former fat chick

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I was off of work last week, which is why I didn’t post.  But I’m back so here goes… 

I’m down to 209!  That’s five pounds in the past two weeks!  Not too shabby.  Actually, it’s pretty dang good!  Everything is going well.  I have to be honest and say that I have been snacking more often and that is not a good thing.  I try to make more healthful choices in my snacking, such as “low fat” tortilla chips rather than regular ones, but I feel like I am beginning to snack far too often.  I think we should all have an occasional treat, but I do not think that having chips everyday is a good thing.  A couple of times per week, yes, but everyday, no.  To try to get control of my head hunger, I have begun chewing sugar free gum and drinking more hot herbal tea (orange tea is de-lish!).  These are non-caloric ways to give my mouth something to do.  Also, I bought some of those “Heavenly Delight” meringue cookies – sugar free, fat free, 4 calories each, pretty tasty, and they go very well with tea.

Exercise is still going strong.  I worked out seven days straight last week – no breaks, and I plan on doing the same thing this week.  Speaking of strong, I feel so much stronger since I have been weight training.  The other night, I was carrying a very heavy load of laundry from my basement laundry room to my second-floor bedroom.  When I went to pick up the clothes, I thought to myself that it would be too heavy to carry, but I when picked them up with no problem, I could feel that I had much more strength in my arms.  Pretty cool, huh?

Anyway, I’m so happy with being down 94 pounds.  My six-month anniversary is on Thanksgiving Day.  That is very appropriate because God has blessed me beyond belief and I will thank Him forever for blessing me to have this surgery.  

Until next time…

I thought I’d do my weigh-in a day early since it’s the 31^st of the month.  I’ve lost slightly less than a pound between ½ and ¾, but I’m calling it a whole pound anyway.  I hope I’m not on my way onto another plateau.  I’ve had about three weeks of fairly good weight loss, and I normally do plateau about this time, so it’s nothing out of the ordinary.  A pain in the butt, yes but surprising, no. 

I bought some new clothes over the weekend because I’m a bit tired of wearing my big clothes.  Between Goodwill and Wal-Mart, I spent about $65 and bought enough gear to last me all winter.  I got some really nice stuff from Goodwill, including a Liz Claiborne sweater for $4.  Everything I bought was either an XL or an 18-20, and that includes tops and bottoms.  I am very happy about that!

I am rapidly becoming a step-aerobics-aholic.  I really like it although my knees are a bit sore from it.  Small price to pay!  Besides, I can always slather on some Ben Gay.  Although, for the next few days, I’ll probably stick to floor aerobics or my 3-mile power walks to give my knees a break.

Anyway, I’d better run.  Hopefully when I update again the scale will have moved!  Toodles!

303/214/135

If I believe the scale, then I’ve lost 6 pounds this week bringing my weight to 215.  Here is why I don’t believe the scale.  Well, let me clarify, it’s not that I think the scale is lying, but I think the weight loss is not permanent fat loss.  Anyway, I have been lax in getting in 64 ounces of water for the past three days.  Yesterday, I got in around 45 ounces and even less than that the previous two days.  I feel very thirsty and “dried out.”  I know I am dehydrated and I think the six pounds represents the lack of fluid in my body rather than fat loss.  I vow to get in no less than 70 ounces of water for the remainder of the week, so my bodily fluid levels will get back to where they are supposed to be.  When that happens, I fully expect the scale to creep back up closer to 219 or 220.  We shall see.  Maybe I’m just being a pessimist.  Maybe I have legitimately lost 6 pounds. 

I am getting in all my protein and vitamins.  Thank you Jesus for having Dr. Von Rueden recommend Pro Stat Protein Syrup.  I take two medicine cups full when I wake up and that gives me 30 grams of protein.  A few hours later I will have for breakfast a carb control yogurt (5 grams protein) and one-third of an Atkins bar (6 to 7 grams protein).  I easily get the rest of my protein with lunch and dinner.  If for some reason I don’t, then one medicine cup of Pro Stat before bed and I’m good for the day.  I never thought I’d get this protein thing under control, but thanks to God for showing me how.

How cool is this?  I now weigh the same thing that’s on my driver’s license.  I’ve been listing my driver’s license weight as 215 for years – even when it was as much as 100 pounds off.  Now it’s accurate!  Neat-O!  I don’t feel the need to lie about my weight anymore.  Yes, 215 is still very much obese, but it’s not 303 (my starting weight) and it’s certainly not 319 (my highest weight). 

I got my aerobic step off of layaway and did my first step workout over the weekend.  It felt really good, although I did almost fall off of the step a few times.  It takes a lot of coordination to do step aerobics, and I’m not that coordinated.  Oh well, I won’t let a small detail like that stop me.  I ordered a few step tapes off of the Internet and I can’t wait to get them.  I know I keep saying this, but never in my wildest dreams did I think I would grow to love exercise so much.  It is truly a wonderful thing in my life right now.  I love cardio and I absolutely love toning and weight training – upper body, lower body, I love it all!  Well, I don’t like abdominal work, but I do it anyway.  I want to be as toned as possible well in advance of plastics.

Anyway, I have to run.  Until next time…  New pics coming soon, I promise!

303/215/135

I am down two pounds to 221 this week.  I am pleased with that especially after the way I ate at the party on Saturday.  It was not pretty.  Oh well.  At least I’m back on track.  I am wearing an 18/20 skirt today.  It’s an A-line skirt with loads of fullness in the hip area.  I don’t think I could pull off an 18/20 straight skirt just yet.  I think I could probably get into an XL or size 18 blouse; although, I don’t happen to own any.  I may have to go out and spend a few bucks on one.

I really, really need to do a better job tracking my calories.  I realized the other day that I am probably eating more calories than I think I am eating.  I used to think that I was getting in 600-700 calories per day, but realistically, it’s probably closer to 800-900.  I need to get back on fit day and plan all my meals.  I don’t want to get out of hand, especially since I am feeling hungry much more frequently than before.  Some of it is head hunger, I will admit.  In any case, now is the time for me to really put this tool to good use and strictly control every bite I put into my mouth.  Maybe, just maybe my weight loss will stabilize and become steadier.  I’d rather be slow and steady than plateau every few weeks. 

Anyway, have a great week and don’t forget that Jesus loves you and wants to be your Savior today!

303/221/135

Down three pounds this week to 223.  Nice!  I know others have been averaging more than three pounds per week, but I’m a slow loser, so I’ll take it!  No complaints whatsoever! 

I had a nice long Columbus Day weekend.  Too bad I had to come back to work.  Just kidding!  I am truly grateful to even have a job when so many others are unemployed.  School is getting pretty intense.  Between now and the end of October, I have a 10 page paper due, a 20 page paper due and midterms.  It’s going to be a challenge to get all that done while working full-time and keeping up with family stuff and my workouts.  But fear not!  My workouts will not suffer – that is a promise.  I really enjoy working out now and it’s one of the few things (along with my faith) that keeps me sane.

My younger sister’s birthday is this weekend and I’ve been volunteered to make a party for her.  That’s right, my mother “volunteered” me.  Anyway, I don’t mind; it’s just the thought of being in the same place with chips and cake for an extended amount of time.  I’ve already told everyone that there can be NO leftovers!  Any leftover food MUST be taken out of my house.  I don’t care who takes it or what they do with it, but I cannot have stuff like that in the house.  Junk food is my trigger and things would get ugly real fast.

Anyway, that’s about all I have for this week.  I’m down 80 pounds!  Last year at this time, I would have never thought it possible for me to be down 80 pounds.  God is wonderful!  I’m really going to work on getting some updated pictures posted soon.  Maybe I’ll get some party pictures.  Until next week…

303/223/135

Down one pound this week.  Hey, it’s better than nothing, which is what I have been averaging lately.  Not much else going on, hence the short entry this week.  Toodles!

303/226/135

Well, after a month-long stall, the scale has finally moved in the right direction.  I am down three pounds this week. 

It seems like some other folks are having a much easier time losing weight than I am.  I’ve read profiles of people who are not working out at all, consume more carbs than me and still don’t have any problems losing, but I work out like a madwoman, watch every morsel that I eat and I still struggle mightily to lose every ounce.  Oh well, I’m glad in a way because perhaps I’ll be less likely to slip up seeing how hard it’s been for me to get where I am.  Not that I am suggesting that others are more likely to slip up…

I raided my mothers closet over the weekend because I was tired of having to put safety pins in all my clothes to make them fit properly.  My mother’s closet is like mine in that she has clothes in a range of sizes from 16 all the way up to 26.  Anyway, I am now in a size 20 blouse and 22 skirt.  I haven’t worn these sizes since I was 13 or 14.  I’ll be in the teens before too long!  Praise God!!!!

School is okay, I suppose.  I really like one of my classes and I hate the other.  I am taking a classroom lecture course and an on-line course.  The classroom lecture is very enjoyable.  The subject is not the most exciting, but the professor is very dynamic and engaging and I genuinely enjoy the discussions.  The online course, on the other hand, was a huge mistake.  The professor is extremely disorganized, the on-line discussions are boring and his written lectures take up tons of space without ever saying anything substantive.  Ugh!!  I truly dislike this class, and Professor Swaim, if you are reading this… man, you are an idiot! 

That’s about it for this week. I put an aerobic step on layaway at Walmart.  It was only $27 for the step and a DVD.  Not bad, eh?  Of course, I have this vision that due to my weight, I’ll crush it like an empty soda can the first time I use it!  That would be pretty sad, wouldn’t it, but what do you expect for $27?  Oh, one more thing… I can now get up and down from the floor without having to grab hold of something!  How cool is that?  Unbelievable!

Until next time… May the Lord bless you and keep you!

303/227/135

Nothing much to report on the weight-loss front – still stalled at 230.  I think I’ve mentioned before that I tend to lose weight for three or four weeks then stall for three or four weeks.  Hopefully that means that I’m nearing the end of my stall and the scale will start moving in a positive direction next time I weigh-in.  We shall see.  Back on August 23^rd, I set a short term goal of losing 18 pounds by September 28^th.  Well, obviously, I won’t be meeting that goal, but I’ll get there eventually.

I bought some new sneakers over the weekend - a size nine down from a size 11! I also bought some new track pants from Sam's Club - a size XL down from a XXXL! The XL's fit me snugly around the hips, so I will be in them for a while. I don't think I could fit into XL slacks yet or any type of non-stretchy XL pants, but it is nice to be able to wear XL sweats - which tend to be cut a tad bigger.

That's about all I have to report. Until next time….

303/230/135

I didn’t update last week because my computer was broken and I didn’t get it fixed until later in the week.  There wasn’t much to report anyway.  My weigh-in this week shows me at 232.  No, your eyes do not deceive you – I am actually two pounds heavier.  I‘m not too worried about it because I’m sure it’s water retention.  I may even be building lean muscle mass because I’ve been weight training for the past six weeks or so.  In any case, whether it’s water or muscle, I AM NOT regaining fat because at this point it’s physically impossible for me to eat the amount of food it would take to regain body fat.  I’m just going to concentrate on getting in my protein and water, making sure I am getting in enough calories, and working out.   I recognize that I don’t always eat enough, so I need to ensure that my body does not go into starvation mode.  The scale will get moving when it’s ready.

Speaking of working out… I really, really want to invest in an aerobic step.  They cost about $100 but I need a really good one that can support my weight.  I have never done step aerobics but I am excited to give it a try.  I understand that it is a phenomenal lower body workout and that is my big problem area.  Perhaps in the next month or so I’ll buy a step as well as a video.  I also want to buy a heart rate monitor so I can monitor my heart rate during my workouts to make sure that I am working hard enough while at the same time not overdoing things.  My cardiologist told me that I could get a decent one for about $50.  I never, ever thought that I’d be this excited about buying exercise equipment and knowing that I will use it.  I love the fact that I care so much about fitness.  God is so awesome!

Guess what I did last week for the first time ever???  I did a yoga class!  It was… interesting.  It was a very basic class with mostly standing poses – I don’t remember the names of any of the poses, but I’m glad most of them were standing since I don’t think I could do much of the floor work.  It was nice to stretch and feel more limber; although, it was not a cardio workout at all.  Yoga is something I could see myself doing after a rigorous cardio workout, but certainly not in place of one.  It was fun and I’m sure it would make my body more flexible, but I’m not sure how much time I want to invest in yoga, if any.  I’ll think about.  I have the “Pilates for Dummies” video, but I have never done the exercises.  Maybe I’ll try that this week.

School started a few weeks ago and I am officially overwhelmed.  I am getting another graduate degree not because I feel particularly ambitious but because I don’t have to pay back student loans as long as I stay in school.  How sad is that?!?!?  Anyway, I have a paper due this week and I have no idea what I’m going to say; it’s supposed to be about government bureaucracy or some dumb crap.  Can you tell how excited I am?  Plus, there aren’t any single guys in my class - trust me, I’ve checked.

Guess I’d better run.  Have an awesome week and don’t forget that Jesus loves you!

303/232/135

Wow.   Just wow.  I’m down to 230 this week.  That’s down eight pounds.  I was hoping to be down four or five, but eight is phenomenal! God is so good!  Anyway, I am certain that much of it was water weight because I was extremely bloated.  But anyway, who cares?  Eight pounds is eight pounds!  I have less than 100 pounds left to lose – 95 pounds to be exact.  I can’t remember the last time I had less than 100 pounds to lose.  It seemed like I was always at the starting line staring at a seemingly insurmountable 170 pounds to lose.  I realize that the next 95 won’t be as fast, but I feel very confident that I can get to goal.

Exercise is still going very well.  I am trying very hard to concentrate on toning my lower body because my hips thighs and buttocks are still humungous.  I know that these “female fat zones” are extremely difficult to tone, but I am working very hard and I won’t give up!

Just one month ago, I was trudging through a three-week stall and feeling very depressed about it.  Everyone told me to hang in there and keep up the protein and water and the weight-loss will pick up again.  Needless to say, they were right.  So, if you find yourself at a stall, don’t fret.  Keep doing the right things and you’ll be fine.

Until next time, may the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you all…

303/230/135