Hi guys!

I know, it's been a while since I've posted. I'd say that I didn't have anything to post, but I have. I was just super busy finishing up with my degree (yay!!) and doing all those wonderful things you do when you graduate. Took my state registry for xray and passed. Started applying for jobs and haven't heard anything back yet. Started another program in school so that I can perform mammograms (and get paid more). Yup, I'm a busy lady.

I'm also a lady that's been working out again!

I don't remember my last post, and frankly I'm too lazy busy to go back and look (no really - I have to read 2 chapters for a quiz that I have this evening in class) so I'll start from the beginning.

I stepped on the scale a few months ago and nearly cried. I was at 212 pounds and miserable. My knees hurt. My ankles hurt. My feet hurt. I hated the way I looked in the mirror and everything just SUCKED. I didn't have time to go to the gym, but I figured since I'm on my feet all day and I know exactly how many calories I burn (thanks to the MedGem Metabolic Analysis I did at the VA's nutrition clinic), I could at least count calories and eat better.

So I started eating more fruits and veggies. Less fried crap. No soda. TONS of water. I only took in 1500 calories per day AT MOST. And I started dropping weight. Quickly. Then, I talked to one of my friends who works with PK about weight loss and she told me that she goes to the gym every evening at 6pm. Since I'm now finished with school, I can totally do that! Turns out, she works out at her apartment complex's gym and it's really nice.

The first day, I hopped on the elliptical and I swore to God I was going to DIE by the end. I lifted some weights and did some situps on the yoga ball. I went home and cried like a little girl. But I made myself go back the next day. And the next. And the next. Pretty soon, I was actually looking forward to going to the gym!

My knees aren't hurting anymore (unless it's going to rain, then there's nothing I can do about that. Arthritis sucks). My ankles aren't hurting anymore. My feet... well, I have heel spurs so they're going to ache, but they don't hurt because I'm too heavy to cart myself around anymore.

I'm down to 190 and feeling awesome. Still have 40 pounds to go before I hit my goal weight, but I have faith that I'll make it.

I'll leave you today with a link that my friend NinjaKitty gave me on the science of weight loss. It covers a lot of things I've previously talked about (back when I was actually posting here regularly) but it's good info to know.

Pushing forward sitting still

I've been trying to make an effort to walk to the school every day to pick Monkey up. But one day I had a meeting and didn't have time to walk all the way back home to get my car so I drove. It's been chilly and I didn't want to make Monkey walk in the cold weather. Yesterday, it was supposed to rain. Today, I just plain didn't feel like it.

I knew when I started this that my feet and knees were going to hurt. I'm literally standing all day at my current clinical site (we're not allowed to sit in the rooms while we wait for patients, and since it's such a slow hospital most of the day is spent standing in one position while we pray for someone to need a testable xray), so that's  enough of a cause for my feet to hurt right there. But add on the fact that I'm 50(ish) pounds overweight and it makes it even worse.

I know this. I know what it's like to not feel that pain when I first step out of bed in the morning because I'm not putting too much weight on them. I know what it's like not to want to cry when I step on the scale. But because I do have that pain and I do want to cry when I step on the scale, I'm depressed as hell.

I'm eating a LOT of fruits and veggies. I'm going to try to do Weight Watchers with my crit partner Elise (who's lost quite a bit of weight already!) and I'm going to join that stupid gym even if it kills me (and it might - financially, anyway). And tomorrow, I'm going to walk to the school and maybe on Thursday when I don't have to be at school early, I might even walk Monkey TO school instead of just FROM school.

This weight will not beat me.

Measure This!

So, it's been awhile, twitloss! 

I think we all had so much to do, blogging about this just fell by the wayside.  But, luckily for me, actually doing it has stayed pretty consistent.  Since we've lasted talked (October 17, 2011) I've lost about 25lbs, according to the scale. Some of that is muscle, though, because I've taken up lifting heavy things.  I like the heavy lifting!  There is something about the constant challenge and the immediate goals that make it appealing. I mean, constantly working up to lifting the next weight is a very satisfying.

Anyway, I also recently started C25K after saying I would NEVER run. One of the people at the gym talked me into trying it, and it hasn't killed me yet.  I'm only on week 2, but I'm considering this a milestone.


The 18th is also Measurements Day.  I'm trying to get this to be a monthly holiday, but so far no one is feeling it but me. This seems like a good place to track measurements though, so here goes:

Between December 18 and January 18:  Waist 1.5 inches gone, Hips 1 inch gone, Chest, same.

This is also month 6 of taking measurements so in 6 months, I've lost 6 inches from my waist (yippee!); 4 inches from my hips (hoooray!); and 2.5 inches from my chest.

A total of 12.5 inches gone in 6 months. And that's not counting biceps and thighs and calves and all the other things that people measure. I can barely remember to measure the big 3, adding anything else would be pointless. Still, I'll take 12.5 inches. I certainly DO NOT want or need them back.

So, this was me in November 2011, shortly after my last post.  And on the right, me on Monday, January 14th.  Apparently, wearing a nametag makes you look much heavier.  Who knew! 

Onward!

New day. New year.

I just read Una's post on Twimom227.com and was inspired. Her story felt a lot like my story. She's always been chunky, I've always been chunky. She gained a lot of weight while she was pregnant, so did I.

But, while I did manage to lose 65 pounds two years ago, I didn't keep it off. I haven't changed my lifestyle as much as I need to. I gained 20 pounds back and am sitting at 200 pounds. I'm stuck in a cycle of depression, I don't exercise as much as I should, and I hate it.

I recently made the decision to get back on the exercise wagon. I'm still committed to that. I get up and move more often than I did before and it is helping. I've lost 4 pounds, and would like to keep losing.  I've always said that I won't set a goal weight because I don't want to aspire to something and possibly fail at it, which would only send me spiraling out of control again. I want to be healthy. 

According to my height/weight chart, I should be somewhere between 120 and 150. I have never been 120 in my life. In high school, I was 150 and happy. In the Navy, just before I got pregnant with Monkey, I was 143 and I looked sick. It's a fine line.

At some point, I'll be happy with my body again. I just need to stay on track.

MK: back on the wagon... again...

A few months ago, I wrote here in Twitloss that I was ready to start again. And I am. I try to eat right, but I lack the motivation to work out. I don't have a workout buddy anymore, I don't have the money to go to a gym, and my elliptical is sitting in the corner getting a fine layer of dust on it because I can't find the cord to plug it in and change the levels. And, let's face it: because I'm lazy.

 My mom bought me a workout video a long time ago (like, YEARS ago) and made me promise that I'd do it. Of course, I told her I would but I threw it in a drawer and promptly forgot about it. This was when I'd just separated from my first husband and I was super depressed and I didn't care much about anything at that time. I did manage to get up off my butt and drop some weight (when I first started here at Twitloss) but I plateaued, got depressed, got overwhelmed, blahblahexcusesblahblah. 

I will say that I didn't start the day off with great food choices. I skipped breakfast and had spaghetti with meat sauce for lunch... and a caramel brownie for a snack. But I'm chugging water and am determined to drink my allotted 64 ounces today (my medication requires at LEAST that much).

Today, I found the copy of Turbo Jam by Team Beachbody. Since the laundry is still going, I put on my tennis shoes, popped in the DVD, and got to it. The workouts are 20 minutes and incorporate dancing and martial arts. And best of all: IT'S FUN. I'm sitting here dripping with sweat and wondering if I could get away with doing it again. I'm still recovering from my bout with the flu, so I've probably already pushed my limit for the day, but... since it's such a nice day out I think I'm going to go for a walk. With my iPod. And see what happens. I can't run because of my knees, but maybe a powerwalk is in the cards? 

All I know is that I need the Vitamin D, the sunshine, and most of all: THE EXERCISE!!

MamaKitty update

I know that I haven't updated recently... I don't think any of us have. Life has gotten in the way of pretty much everything. That includes blogging (here, at MamaKitty Reviews, my personal blog...), exercising, you name it and life has pretty much knocked it down.

I was in a car accident on September 11th. I'm okay, but my car was totaled and I hurt my back. I went to a chiropractor and I'm feeling better, but any exercise I got in before then went swirling. And now, I'm 50 pounds overweight, at 199lbs (I've gained 20 in the last 6 months) and hating life. I'm tired all the time. I have no energy to do anything but sit on the couch and watch TV. I'm on my feet most of the day at clinic, but my heart rate doesn't get too high since all I'm doing is standing there. I feel heavy.

I was walking to my car the other day when leaving clinic and I saw my reflection in the window at one of the shops in the hospital... and I didn't like what I saw. My body is big. I know that it looks worse because I have to wear a big white lab coat (and let's face it - white isn't flattering) but I just looked... big. And my head isn't that big. So I look majorly disproportionate (it could be how I view myself, but either way, I don't like it).

I've got to get back on track. I've got to drop the last 50 pounds. I'm down 50 already (granted, it was 2 years ago but still) so I should be able to get past this last (giant) hurdle.

Right?

Checking In...From The Edge

Hola! Just popping in to say hi. I am currently down about 5 pounds. Thank you stomach flu of 2012! I can't take credit for it based on working out and eating right, but I am totally willing to capitalize on my pain and suffering. Or at least try. I have put on 2 pounds of what I lost, but hell I am holding on by the skin of my teeth.

DH and I are talking about doing a month of eating vegetarian in an attempt to kind of detox our systems. I am also seriously considering taking Xenadrine or some other supplement to try and spur on some weight loss because waking up at 4:30am M-Th and every other Friday is not getting it done. I mean, I feel better, but I can't say I am any smaller and the numbers on the scale aren't really going anywhere.

Last weekend DH and I went rock wall climbing. Holy crap! That was scary and not a little bit of work. DH climbs like he was born to it. Me, I get 3/4ths of the way up and chicken out. Every. Single. Time. Sigh. My goal is to get to the top...one day. LOL! Above is the gym we went to, called Verticle Hold. Everyone was really nice and we had a great time for having 0 clue what we were doing when we walked in.

How are you all doing? Hanging in there? Lose any weight? I feel like we haven't talked in a dogs age. Oh right. We haven't. Well, say hi. don't be a stranger and I'll try to do the same.