Kathy S.

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Monday, I joined a gym near home so I can go several times a week.  I've already worked out twice, and I have 2 additional appointments for the first of next week.  And in this first week of January, I've lost 3 pounds.  So I feel as if I'm in a good place with a good foundation.  Classes start Monday, and I should be able to get a routine in place again.  That will help me tremendously.  I'll be taking my lunch to school, working out at least 4 times a week, and drinking 80-100 ounces of water a day.  It feels good to have a plan.

Whew!  It's been more than 6 months since I've posted here, and it's been probably 2 months since I've been careful about what I've eaten or exercised.  I've regained some weight, as one would expect.  Jason has regained some too.  So we're taking it easy through the end of the year, and then we're getting serious about taking care of ourselves again. 

I'm looking forward to losing again and to getting an exercise routine re-established.  My goal is still 130 pounds, and I know I'll get there!

I scheduled a fill appointment for yesterday because I felt I needed a little tweak.  I've been getting hungry just a few hours after eating, so I wasn't feeling as satisfied as I had been.  I was down 13 pounds from December 2 -- down to 160.5 on the office scale.  My fill was .1 cc, so I now have 4.3 cc's in my little band.  I hope this fill will put me back where I need to be.  Feeling hungry 2-3 hours after eating is unpleasant, and I also haven't felt full on the smaller amount of food I had been eating until recently.  So I think I'll start losing again.  I had gotten as low as 154.2 in April.  I'm ready to see that number--and lower--again!  Most mornings recently, I've been between 156 and 158.

As for exercise, I've started a running program!  I found an 8-week schedule for working up to a 30-minute run, and I started it this week.  I'm wondering if I ought to expand the program to 16 weeks just to take it a little slower and to give my poor joints a break, but I've done okay with my 2 days of running so far.  I think running appeals to me because it's something I would NEVER have done as a heavier person.  Now that my weight is getting close to normal BMI range, I want to push myself to go outside of my normal workouts.  So maybe I'll do a 5K this fall.  We'll see.

I just joined an OH Lapband Board challenge by soulsister to lose weight by the first day of summer, June 21.

My current weight is 158, and my goal is 145 pounds by June 21.  That's 81 days (11 weeks and 4 days).  If I can reach that goal, I just might make 130 pounds by August 16!

I met two of my goals for March--my miles and minutes--but I didn't lose much weight.  In fact, according to the scale this morning, I was down exactly 1 pound since March 1 (down to 157.8 from 158.8--geesh!).  I had hit 156 during the month, but I bounced back up since hitting that low.  I think my weight loss has slowed because I haven't exercised for the last week due to an intense pain in my left breast.  I thought it might have been caused--or at least aggravated--by weight lifting, but the pain hasn't eased even though I haven't lifted since early last week; in fact, the pain has gotten worse.  But I saw my doctor last week, and I'm scheduled for an ultrasound next Tuesday.  Once I get some kind of word about what's causing the pain, I'll get back into a routine.  We had a beautiful start to the month, and I'm looking forward to being able to get out and walk as spring settles in. 

March Progress:
685 minutes (goal was 600)
60.5 miles (goal was 60)
2.8/8.8 pounds (started at 158.8, goal was 150.0)

For April, I'm going to set my walking goal at 90 miles (aiming toward 3 miles a day) and my exercise goal at 600 minutes (at least 30 minutes a day, at least 5 days a week).  And I'll set 152 as my goal weight.   That's 5.8 pounds.

I had hoped to hit 130 by my 3-year anniversary.  I'm going to have to really get moving to make that goal.

I just figured my minutes, miles, and weight loss for the month of February.  I made some progress, but I didn't accomplish everything I had set out to do.  Still, it wasn't a complete loss, so I'm not beating myself up.

My February Progress:
556 minutes (goal is 800)
52.1 miles (goal is 40)
weight: 158.8 (started at 161.2, goal is 155.0)

So here's how the 2 months' challenges stack up for me so far:
January: 916/900 minutes; 43.5/30 miles; 7.0/5.0 pounds
February: 556/800 minutes; 52.1/40 miles; 2.4/6.2 pounds

For March, I want to work toward 600 minutes of exercise, 60 miles of walking, and a weight loss of 8.8 pounds (to reach 150 pounds).  That's a lot of weight for one month, but I want to really push myself to stay focused, so I'm setting that goal high.

Silly me.  I fell this morning.  Not on the ice, which one might expect, but on the slick flooring on the stage during play rehearsal.  They had finished putting the flooring down last night, and we knew it was slick, so we mopped it to try to rough it up a bit.  That didn't seem to make a difference, so we were all trying to be careful this morning.  Well, I was running through a dance routine and went down.  I had been walking through it at about half speed, and when I went to full speed, I slipped.  Thankfully, I didn't hurt myself too badly--just sat down pretty hard, so my lower back has a VERY tender spot.  I've taken it pretty easy today and have taken ibuprofen and tylenol throughout the day.  Still, I expect to be pretty stiff tomorrow morning. 

Tomorrow will be pretty busy.  First, it's Jason's and my 12th anniversary, so we'll be remembering our wedding and expressing our gratitude to each other for the good marriage we have  Second, it's my great-niece's first birthday (on February 4), so we're celebrating it tomorrow.  My niece has arranged for us to meet for lunch at a local bbq restaurant, and all of the local family is coming.  As soon as that is over, we'll head home to watch the Superbowl.  That's always a big event for Jason and me. 

And since it's the first of a new month, I'll be starting a new challenge with my friends on the GCH board.  I finished the January challenge well, surpassing all 3 of my goals.  I had hoped to lose 5 pounds, and I lost 7; I had planned to walk at least 30 miles, and I walked 43.5; and I had planned to exercise at least 900 minutes, and I clocked 916.  I don't know what I'll set for February, but my goals will probably be pretty similar.  Since I started the challenge in January, I've joined a health support group through my health insurance company.  It provided me a good pedometer, which I can upload a couple of times a week, and it also uploads data from my Polar heart monitor, so I can track my workouts.  With that technology, I can easliy track my steps and minutes online, so I might just set goals I can measure with those devices.  But I also want to continue to set a weight loss goal for the month.  I think for February, I want to lose 6.2 pounds, which will put me at 155 by March 1. 

This is our second day of being closed in at home by the ice storm.  And this morning, it started snowing on top of the snow.  In the past 2 hours, we've gotten 2-3 inches of snow.  Jason went out and gathered together all of the branches that had broken off of our water maple out front.  We also have several big branches down in the back yard.  Thankfully, no branches hit the house or the cars, although there was a huge branch lying on the front porch this morning.  A large number of people have lost their electricity, but we still have ours, so I'm grateful for that.  And we have plenty to eat and drink and enough cat and dog food for our critters.  Even our schools have been closed: Jason's has been out all 3 days, and mine has been out yesterday and today.  There's no real reason for us to get out, so we've holed up in the family room, working on school work, reading, watching tv, and watching movies.

I've met several of my January goals already.  I've lost 7 pounds (with a goal of 5); I've walked 38.5 miles (with a goal of 30); and I've exercised for 820 minutes (with a goal of 900).  Using WW has really helped me limit my calorie intake and start losing again.  I can imagine finally reaching my goal weight.  In fact, I expect to be in the 150s in the next few days.  If I can lose even 5 pounds a month, I can be at my goal weight (130) in 6 months.  I just realized that will be August, and August 16 is my 3-year bandiversary.  I'll set that as my goal date.

I wanted to hit the snooze button this morning but got up with my husband, took care of our old dog, and then got on the treadmill.  I didn't push myself as hard as I do some days, but it still felt good to burn some calories, breathe hard, and sweat.

Today was my first "parents" day--a trip to Morehead to spend the day with my mom and dad.  I built my teaching schedule with Tuesdays off this semester so I can have that day each week to enjoy time with my parents.  Many Tuesdays they'll have doctors' appointments, but we'll also take road trips (like Jacqueline does with her dad), eat out, visit friends, and work around their house.  Today I went by their old place to check on things there and then picked up lunch, ran the sweeper for them, and helped organize some of their books.  I cut the visit short so I could get home before it got too cold out. 

One of the changes my parents' move brought about was my bringing my old dog home from their old place.  I had Tillie for several years before I moved back to Lexington and my parents moved to my farm.  They lived there for 11 years before moving to their new place in Morehead.  Well, Tillie is ancient and has a variety of problems: she's blind and deaf, and her bladder leaks when she lies down.  Because she can't see or hear, we felt she wouldn't do well at a the new place, so I asked if I could bring her home with me.  I really expected her to have to be put down soon and didn't want my mother to have to deal with that.   Well, this dog has gotten a new lease on life!  I don't know if it's because she's back with me or what, but she's perked up and is full of life.  So my morning routine is to wake her up (which takes a while), clean her bowls and get her fresh food and water, walk her outside once she decides to stand up, leave her outside while I put her soiled blanket in the washer and pull her fresh one out of the dryer (we wash and dry one each day to always have a fresh one ready), then retrieve her from the back yard (and since she can't see me or hear me call her, it's not an easy task!), walk her back to her corner, put her dishes in place, and put her gate up.   Whew!  My husband doesn't have the bond with her that I have, so he'll care for her, but he isn't happy about it.  So that's become part of my morning routine.  I'm not sure how much longer she'll live, but I'm glad I can love on her some before her time draws to a close.

It's a brand new year, and I'm ready to make this year a success in terms of weight loss, exercise, and improving health.  I weighed 168.2 this morning (up almost 2 pounds from my low last week (or should I say, last year?).  So that's what I'm using as my starting weight for the year, and my goal is to lose at least 5 pounds in January.  I also plan to walk at least 30 miles in the month and exercise at least 900 minutes.