Week 4 Results

As many of you know, my in-laws are British. My mother-in-law makes a traditional English dinner about once every other month and this past Sunday was the big day. This is something you can't pass up ... you just can't! You also can't take small portions. It's just not allowed! *cough cough*. If you can see the bottom of your plate through your food, then you don't have enough on your plate. It's basically Thanksgiving-size portions of food.

Many of you are probably wondering what an English dinner is. I'm sure every family does it slightly differently, but Brad's family has roast beef, mushy peas, roasted potatoes, mashed potatoes (yes, two different kinds at once), Yorkshire pudding, carrots & turnips, and LOTS of gravy. Sue throws in some corn because we like it, but it's not traditional. MMmmmmmm

When you're trying to lose weight, these are typically the types of meals you should stay away from, and wisely so. I just can't. There is NO WAY I can pass up this scrumptious meal! Well, I paid for it. Not only did I pack on the calories, but I did it the night before my weigh-in. DUMB!! So, of course, I gained a pound. (I did check myself yesterday afternoon and I actually weighed less than I did that morning, but it doesn't count for this post). I said I was going to lay it all out for you, so I'm not going to lie. I knew I'd gain some weight at some point, but just didn't think it would be now.

I would like to report some good news, though. I have been doing the Wii EA Sports Active for 7 days now and I feel great! It's nice getting up and exercising first thing in the morning. It definitely gives me energy and I flat out feel better about myself. Now, for the results. Drum roll please.....

Height: 5'3"
Weight: 182.4
Body Fat: 46%
Water: 39.4%
BMI: 32.31 (Obese)

4 Days out of 30

Day 3 was a "Rest Day", so I started up again today. I like the low intensity as I'm sore, but not so sore that I'm completely incapacitated for the rest of the day. At least I know it's working. I'm looking forward to all of the new exercises I will be doing over the next few weeks. Each day, there's a new one.

I still have a long way to go, but realized that little by VERY little, my clothes are starting to fit better. I still have a serious spare tire I need to get rid of, but I could tell my love handles weren't as prominent in a shirt I often wear. Don't get me wrong - they're very much still there, but I can tell a difference. I can't wait to see what my weight is on Monday!

Oh, and I made cookies again tonight!! Why do I do this to myself?!?!

30 Day Challenge: Day 2

This morning, the game kicked my butt again! My legs are SO sore! I did a ton of lunges, high knees, kick backs, running, and a little upper body. The tennis was pretty lame, but definitely fun in terms of working out. It approximated my calorie burn to be slightly under 140 in 20 minutes!! Not too shabby. Tomorrow is a "rest" day, but I think I might do a few free weights. Thanks for checking in!!

30 Day Challenge

Today I started a 30 Day Challenge on the Wii EA Sports Active!! You workout for two days, take a day off, etc. for 30 days. You're basically working out 20 days and resting 10, but hey, it's a step in the right direction, right?! There are three levels of difficulty: low intensity, medium intensity, and high intensity. I'm starting on the low, then in 30 days, I'll move up to medium, etc. I can't imagine what the high intensity is like because it kicked my butt today!

You do different activities each day, which makes it fun. Today, I started out walking (in place), then running, some boxing, squats (normal and sideways), curls, and inline skating (you basically squat to go fast, then when you hit a ramp, you jump as high as you can in the air). Oh. My. Goodness! My legs were burning... BURNING! I had a blast doing it, though, and it only took about 20 minutes. Tomorrow, I believe, the game said I'm going to play a little tennis, which should be fun.

Aidan and Rhys woke up early this morning, too. I put Rhys in his jumparoo and he was glued to the tv. Aidan started out playing with his trains in his play room, then came into the living room and was watching me and encouraging me! "Go, Mommy!! Good job, Mommy!" Sooo sweet! He thought it was pretty cool that I was "on the tv", too. Hopefully I can lose a few pounds by Easter!

Week 3 Results

One more week down - yay! Thank you for all of the support and encouraging words! I want to especially thank Annie-pie for reminding me that I'm watching what I'm eating when I was at a friend's baby shower eyeing all of the yummy food! That's EXACTLY what I needed!! Instead of pigging out, I just had one cookie, a few M&Ms and some mixed nuts. My mindset was 100% on the shower and 0% on watching what I eat. This blog is paying off. Yesssssss.

This week's numbers:

Height: 5'3"
Weight: 181.4
Body Fat: 46%
Water: 39.4%
BMI: 32.13 (Obese)

Well, I'm happy that I lost weight, but I'm not happy with the amount. At this rate, I'm going to get to 130 lbs in two years! It's time to dig in and get serious. I hope to update you with more exciting numbers next week.

Headache or Labor, Which is Worse?

Today my family and I went to the Dallas Zoo, which was a blast! I got a ton of walking in and my mom packed a healthy lunch for all of us. Aidan and my nephew really enjoyed all of the different animals. Aidan and I really liked the penguins - so cute! We were all worn out by the end.

About 30 minutes before we left I started getting a headache. This was the third day in a row that I had gotten this headache, but the previous two days I was at work and was able to pop a few Advil to make it go away. However, we didn't have any Advil with us and I, being super stubborn, thought I'd just wait until we got home to get something. Boy, was that a mistake. The entire ride home my head was in my hands and I was rubbing my forehead trying to make it go away or at least dull the pain. It hurt so bad I felt sick to my stomach - I really thought I was going to have to roll down the window and vomit while going 70 MPH on the highway. That would not have been good. My eyeballs felt like they were going to explode - it hurt to even open them! It hurt to hear Aidan talk and of course Rhys decided to talk and/or cry the whole way home. I have never felt this much pain in my head!!

As soon as we got home I took 3 ibuprofen and laid down in our nice dark room. My head was throbbing and the slightest movement made it worse. I made the mistake of laying on my back to see if that would help (I usually lay on my side) and I thought I was going to pass out. The pressure around my eyes and cheek bones doubled when I did that! I think I was able to get a couple of minutes of sleep, then woke up and started balling. Brad came in and asked what was wrong and if I needed to go to the doctor. At the time I wasn't sure and was having a hard time thinking straight. He asked if I had had any caffeine today and confused I said no. He brought me a small glass of Coke, then I jumped in the shower.

I can't even tell you how much better I felt 5 minutes after drinking the Coke. I really don't think it was the shower - I think it was the caffeine! How crazy is that?! I don't chug pop daily and especially the last several days, I've been good about drinking a ton of water. I got another glass of Coke and was a completely different person. One minute, I was totally incapacitated, curled up in the fetal position, crying like a baby, thinking my head is about to explode and 30 minutes later I'm in the kitchen making cookies with Aidan.

I have NEVER gone through such extremes so quickly in my life... well, maybe going from being in labor to getting an epidural is pretty close. I honestly don't know which is worse and I'm being completely serious. The labor pain was much more intense, but it only came in 20-30 second spurts every few minutes. The headache, though, was a constant, throbbing, deep pain that would NOT go away. Actually, it was really a "face-ache" because it wasn't my head at all - it felt like my sinuses were inflamed yet I wasn't congested in the slightest. The top of my right orbital bone is bruised because I was rubbing it so much trying to make the pain go away.

Well, I'm still feeling great and am about to get some Zzzs. Welcome to my world. I hope I didn't scare you. :)

Week 2 Results

Another week down and several more to go. Phew! This is NOT easy, but it is getting easier. Thank you for all of your support!!! Last week was a bit rough as I made a cake for a friend and of course there is a LOT of sampling involved.... a LOT. Then, since we didn't bring any leftovers home, I made some cookies Sunday. Oops! It's so hard to avoid the sweets when your hobby is baking. I just need to learn moderation and no sampling the batter/dough. (Yeah right...)

I forgot my walking shoes on Monday, but the remainder of the work week, my coworker and I walked 1.9 miles, according to Google Maps, every day!! I can really start to feel it in my legs. My sinus infection finally eased up a few days ago, so I hope to bump up the exercise soon.

Eating still isn't great. I'm still eating some junk with a few fruits and veggies mixed in, but not nearly as much junk as I had been eating. I keep telling myself that I just have to take little steps every day in the right direction.

Well, here are my figures for this week:


Height: 5'3"
Weight: 182.2
Body Fat %: 45.5
Water %: 39.7
BMI: 32.27 (Obese)

I'm excited to see my body fat go down 1.5% - how cool is that?! My water % went up, which is good and I lost 1/2 a pound. Not great numbers, but at least they're going in the right direction. Hopefully in 4 months I'll feel comfortable in a bathing suit. :)

When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade.... Not Lemon Meringue Pie

I made it through the first week, but barely! On Wednesday, I left work early because I had to go to the doctor to get some meds. I was diagnosed with another sinus infection, which is pretty standard for me this time of year. I felt ok, but I knew I needed to get it cleared up. I took off Thursday and Friday to have a nice long weekend with the family and, as planned, cleaned the house all day Thursday. Then, I woke up Friday with a horrible cold! Nooooo! I was completely out of commission all weekend. I am feeling better now but still super stuffy. The worst part was that it was BEAUTIFUL outside. I did manage to go to the park with my family and my parents for an hour on Saturday, but that completely exhausted me.

Overall, I'll rate my week as a B- or C+. I ate a LOT better than I used to eat, but I cheated... a LOT on the weekend. Not only was I not able to exercise because I was feeling bad, but I ate pretty bad, too. When you're sick, you eat what sounds good, right? Well, sure, to an extent, but there are still limits, (hence the name of this post). Friday night we had Small Group which I didn't attend, but we had signed up for dessert. They were going to have breakfast for dinner and I had these REALLY cute breakfast-looking cupcakes I was going to make. I ended up making plain old strawberry cupcakes with vanilla icing. (I made sure not to breathe on them). Needless to say, there were plenty left over for snacking. Oops. Then, to make it worse, Brad and I ordered Pizza for dinner on Saturday and had chocolate chip pancakes for dinner last night. Hmmmm You're probably thinking my grade should be a big, fat F. However, to my credit, I ate a bunch of cucumber, an apple, and lots of healthy snacks and water during the day.

I woke up this morning expecting the worst and to my surprise, I lost weight!! Sweet! Just think how much more weight I would have lost if I nixed the pizza and pancakes. I was very encourage and am looking forward to what I'm going to do this week. Thanks for all of the support!! Keep it coming!!

Height: 5'3"
Weight: 182.8
Body Fat %: 47%
Water %: 38.6%
BMI: 32.38 (Obese)

Jell-O Legs

Yesterday, a coworker and I walked up and down the stairs twice in our 5-story building since it was raining outside. That means I walked up and down 10 stories! Wow! Considering I haven't had much physical activity in the last, oh, I don't know... several YEARS, I thought I was going to have a heart attack. When we finished, I walked back to my desk and sat down for 30-40 minutes. When I tried to stand up to get some water, I fell right back down in my chair. My legs were Jello! I was finally able to get on my feet, but when I started walking I looked like and felt like a toddler taking their first few steps. My knees were locked in fear if I bent them I wouldn't be able to straighten back up and my back was rigid so that I wouldn't lean too far one way or the other. If I got slightly off balance, I knew I was going fall over. I'm not joking. My cube-mates were laughing at me because I looked so ridiculous. I was able to get some water and make it back to my desk without falling, thankfully.

Yesterday, I counted my calories and consumed +/- 1200. Although it wasn't a totally healthy 1200, I was proud that I was conscious of what I was eating/drinking. Small steps....

We walked the stairs again today even though the sky was clear and the sun was out. I think I'm getting yet another sinus infection, so we stayed inside. Normally, I would cancel the walking/exercise all together because I'm not feeling great, but this time I put my foot down and said, "No excuses!" And guess what?! Even though my calves and thighs were still burning from yesterday and I couldn't breathe through my nose, I did it! I DID IT! I was still huffing and puffing while walking, but my recovery time afterwards was only about 30 minutes instead of 45! (It's a bit sad considering we were only walking for about 10 minutes max). But, it's a start!

So far, so good on the calories today. I need to figure out easy lunches/snacks to bring to work. Thanks for all of your support!!!

New Week, New Month, New Start

No more excuses. I am the queen at finding an excuse not to do something, especially when it comes to weight loss. Forget my last post. Girl Scout Cookies or not, I need to change. I need to get healthy and take care of myself! In order to do that, though, I need the support of my friends and family. I need encouragement and accountability. So, I'm going to lay it all on the line and hope that you support me in this new chapter in my life. Today is a new week (my weeks start on Monday :) ) and it's a new month, so what better time to start?

Brad has already given me a pretty sweet incentive in that for every pound that I lose, he will put a physical $20 into a jar. I don't get a penny of it until I've reached my goal, but when I do, I'll have enough money for a new wardrobe! Now, that's an incentive I can work with.

Like I said, I'm going to lay it all on the line: no lying and no holding back. I'm only going to weigh myself once a week since weight fluctuates throughout the week. The scale we have at home shows your weight, body fat % and water %. I don't know how accurate it is, but I'm still going to track it. Here are my current stats as of this morning. I forgot to take my measurements, so I'll post those later.

Height: 5' 3"
Weight: 185 lbs
Body Fat %: 47%
Water %: 37.9%
BMI: 32.77 (Obese)

Man, how embarrassing and depressing! My goal weight for now is 130 lbs, so that means I have 55 pounds to lose. My goal date is to lose it by the end of the year. This isn't a diet plan, this is a lifestyle change so that when I lose the weight I will keep it off. I'm going to start by making small changes here and there and continuing to do so until I get to my goal weight.

Already today I had a banana with my cereal and plan on walking during lunch. Hey, the tortoise beat the hare by going slow and steady. I CAN DO THIS!!

Welcome to my world! Please step in and give me a hand. :)