12.6 Pounds & Counting

Greetings, Kittens!


I missed last month and for that I'm sorry, but at least it isn't because I've fallen off the wagon. As the title says, I'm down 12.6 pounds since January 1st and going steadily along. 11 of that happened in January. I plateaued the first two weeks of February when I stopped exercising to recover, and then dropped another 1.6 since I've been able to move more. 


I'm happy about this overall because it means that my eating didn't increase the way it usually does during my period and when I'm worn down and have to recoup. That's a very good sign for how the beginning of this year, and hopefully beyond will go. 


I haven't been back on the stationary bike or using my hoop like I'd hoped. Most of my activity has been getting my 10K steps or close to it, and bouncing to music on my balance ball which I love. Lately, it's been just the ball, but as long as it's working right?


I'm in a low energy phase with the CFS, but I'm steadily working forward with it. Everything is harder with a chronic illness, but no goal is impossible, some just take more creative thinking. In my case, when you can't run, walk. When you can't walk...bounce!


What ways have you all found to work around obstacles and sneak in the activity you need?


~X

How do you US people do this & Sweet Potato Fries are the DEVIL!

First I must apologize for the second time for forgetting my post last week and I am afraid that the coming weeks posting my #twitloss blogposts are going to be challenging as I have a lot of books to read for review and reviews to write and I have a houseguest coming week and will also be going to London for 2 days. Busy much?

I hope you guys will forgive me, if I don't get around to posting my weekly post now and then...I promise to do my utter best to try and keep it up, but sometimes other stuff take precedence...

But this week I didn't forget and I found a free moment so I can catch you guys up on how I'm doing. As announced I went on vacation to L.A. and had a BLAST!

Met with Dara (dyromance) and I was sorry I couldn't chat more with her. We did talk a little bit about #twitloss and I expressed to her how much I admired you guys in the US for dieting and trying to lose weight. I was in L.A. for 2 weeks and gained 4 lbs!!!!! How do you guys resist the churros, the subway sandwiches, the bagels, the pancakes, the lemon squares....yes these are all things I stuffed in my mouth during my vacation and early on in the vacation I discovered the bane of my dieting existence. I call them THE DEVIL: Sweet Potatoe Fries!!!!! OMG I am so happy this is not common here in the Netherlands because I would never be able to stick to my diet if they were. You know what I told hubby? "As soon as I'm done dieting and I've reached my goal weight I am having home-made Sweet Potato Fries (notice how I capitalize the words...that's how I show my adoration of this DEVIL FOOD!)

So I gained during the vacation and this is the first time EVER I  have gained weight on a vacation. I always, always lose weight on vacation. But ah well, shit happens...so when I got back I knew I had to get my behind in gear again because I was already behind on the schedule before I left and now I had gained weight. I must say it wasn't too difficult to get back in the game of dieting and when I went to the acupuncturist the first time after I came back I'd already lost the 4 lbs and even lost another lbs...So compared to before L.A. I'd lost lbs in total. Me being me I started thinking that if I had stuck to the diet on vacation it could have been so much more but I soon kicked myself for that. One has to be happy with small achievements and not always crave more/better/bigger...yeah, working on that people.

Yesterday I went for my bi-weekly weigh-in again and lo and behold, another 4 pounds, which meant I have dived under the 160 lbs mark. It's been years and years since I weighed under 160 lbs so I must say I am happy. If I keep this up I might reach my goal weight somewhere in September/October...but for now let's focus on taking and enjoying this with babysteps.

And now for the stats:

Starting Weight: 192 lbs

Goal Weight: 132 lbs

Last Time’s Weight: 163 lbs (6 weeks ago)

This Time’s Weight: 158 lbs

This Time’s Loss: 5 lbs (+4, -5, -4)

Total Loss: 34 lbs

This Week’s Hours of Zumba: 0

Last Week’s Hours of Zumba: 0

Total Hours of Zumba: 10.5

As you can see in the stats...I don't want to talk about exercise...Not.A.Word...

Hugs, 

Pearl

I'm better!

Starting Weight: 192 lbs

Goal Weight: 132 lbs

Last Time’s Weight: 169 lbs

This Time’s Weight: 165 lbs

This Time’s Loss: 4 lbs

Total Loss: 26 lbs

This Week’s Hours of Zumba: 0.0

Last Week’s Hours of Zumba: 0.0

Total Hours of Zumba: 7

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

After a few weeks of illness I am finally almost recovered which coincided with the return of the acupuncturist so yesterday I had my weighing again after 3 weeks. I was absolutely fearing the worst because as I mentioned before I was on some meds that have weight gain as a side effect. So yesterday morning, contrary to what I normally do, I didn't weigh at home (I always do that to have an indication as my weight on the doctor's scale is never the same as my weight at home, it's always more at the doctor's) and went in blind expecting a stern lecture because if I had gained weight there definitely was going to be one since I'd gotten one a few weeks back when I didn't lose as much weight as I should have.

So I embarked upon a trip on public transport hell. I really want hubby to start working from home again on Thursdays as he always did because going to the doctor by public transport is excruciating, but hey he's the one bringing in the doe at the moment so I can't complain to hard ;)

Back to the topic at hand: Finally, I stepped on the scale with shaky knees and...low and behold...I hadn't gained...I'd lost...

Okay it wasn't the 8 lbs I was supposed to have lost in these three weeks, but I did lose 4 so although I'm still behind on schedule it's not disastrous. As I'm practically recovered I am going to pick up on the exercise again too because slacker that was of course the first thing I dropped like a hot potato the moment I started to feel sick. I have a deal with hubby that I'll be starting Zumba again as of coming Tuesday!

So starting next week I hope to be here again full force, tweeting on #twitloss, blogging about more than being sick and commenting on your posts!

Hugs,
Pearl

Celebrate!

Sorry everyone! This was supposed to post yesterday. I was out of touch and had no idea it didn't publish as scheduled. -Dara

That is what I am doing today! Celebrating. I am celebrating my 2lb loss since last Tuesday. I am also celebrating the total 4lb loss over the last few weeks. (See my ticker! It moved!)

So, obviously eating as a form of celebration is out. What's a girl to do? Well, for me. I bought a book. I picked up Mary Jo Putney's Never Less Than A Lady it is the 2nd book in the Lost Lords series. I got the first one free on Amazon's Kindle site and so had to get this one!

Last week was a pretty good week. Clearly laying off the booze is helping. Although I did slip Friday and have one (large) beer at dinner. But hey one beer in one week isn't so bad. I am pretty happy about it. I have also been using the diet shakes more and not snacking in between. Probably a key factor in my success. Now if I can get my but back in the workout rhythm I think I can capitalize on this start.

My darling husband has even commented he could tell I have lost some weight, so it's a win all the way around!

Now, what I want to know is, as you are working toward your own weight loss (or other) goal, how will you celebrate? Are you planning something different than you might normally as a celebration?

A Balanced Diet...

This week I am talking about my eating habits. The cartoon above illustrates my general eating habits. I diet and diet for a few days at a pop...maybe even a week. Gasp! Then I blow it. Or the weekend comes and I blow it. Or someone brings donuts into the office (like they did on Tuesday) and I blow it. The general theme here is I BLOW IT!

Well, I started thinking again about what might work for me. And I remembered how much I love watching Dr. Oz. (He is so awesome!) So I went and found his book You: On a Diet and of course pulled up my old pal Oprah's site cause they hang out together. One of the articles I found by him on her site was Dr. Oz's 5 Secrets to "Waist Loss".

In the article he lays out 5 rules to slimming your waist down. So here goes. I am sharing with you and giving this a shot. Cause clearly a restricted diet is not working with me.

Rule #1: Spoil Your Dinner

Remember the plant from Little Shop of Horrors, with its demands to "Feed me"? The hormone ghrelin is your body's version of Audrey II, only it gets your attention with stomach growls instead of musical numbers. Once you've started eating, it takes about 30 minutes for ghrelin levels to fall and that "full" feeling to kick in. But if you eat a 100-calorie snack (like a handful of nuts) about a half hour before mealtime, your ghrelin levels will already be subsiding by the time you pick up your fork.

Rule #2: Nix Soft Drinks with Meals

Leptin is a hormone that signals the brain that you can stop eating once your body has stored enough energy from food. Yet fructose (a sugar found in soft drinks) interrupts the feedback loop, preventing your brain from getting the message. Quench your thirst with water instead.

Rule #3: Fill Up on Fiber

The ileum is a part of the small bowel that can squeeze, or "brake," to slow the transit of food through the intestines. When that happens, you get a slow but steady supply of fuel, which keeps you feeling satiated. A high-fiber breakfast triggers this mechanism, because the bowel needs more time to absorb nutrients from fiber. The result: No more 11 a.m. stops at the vending machine.

Rule #4: Eat with Awareness

That means eating at the table, not sprawled across the couch. It also means no zoning out in front of American Idol , checking your BlackBerry, or surfing the Web during meals. Not only will mindful eating increase the satisfaction you get from food but the extra time will allow your ghrelin levels to drop even further as you eat.

Rule #5: Build More Muscle

You may have heard that muscle burns more calories than fat, but did you know that it burns a dozen times more? Aim to walk 10,000 steps a day, and begin a muscle-strengthening program, which will help steel your skeleton as well. Trainer Joel Harper has an excellent 20-minute exercise routine .

On the flip side, I also have been out of action of late. Following his guidance above I am going to work on my exercise habits. Maybe I can't do Billy Blanks right now, but I can sit my butt on my stationary bike and pedal. So that is what I am going to do.

In the mean time, my scale has been fluctuating wildly...Monday I was 200lbs, Tuesday I was 196. I like that Tuesday number so I am rolling with it. BUT! I vow not to get on the scale again for at least 7 days, maybe more. This is not about a number really; it is about getting healthy before my body craps out on me!

Screw the Scale!

Starting Weight: 192 lbs

Goal Weight: 132 lbs

Last Time’s Weight: 173 lbs

This Time’s Weight: 169 lbs

This Time’s Loss: 4 lbs

Total Loss: 22 lbs

This Week’s Hours of Zumba: 0.0

Last Week’s Hours of Zumba: 1.0

Total Hours of Zumba: 7

I seriously mean that title. The scale is an object of torture and injustice. I am living proof of that. As can be read in last week’s post I lost barely 2 pounds last week. Nutritionist was convinced I ate something because in two weeks I should’ve lost more. Had a hard time convincing him that I really hadn’t ate anything other or more than approved on the diet and that it was my body sabotaging me.

This week I lost 4 lbs. That’s twice as much as I lost in a total of the two weeks before and I did nothing different this week, I’m even going through a visit by aunt Flo again and don’t even feel bloated. Seriously, if someone has the manual to this body of mine…please return it because I’m in desperate need of it!

Back to that scale…So compared to what I still have to lose I am not even half way if I look at the numbers of the scale. However when it comes to my clothes, it’s a whole other matter. I am speeding toward the point in dieting where my clothes are not fitting comfortably i.e. dropping of my ass while still buttoned, but not yet buying other clothes because I am not even at the halfway point of the goal weight.

I kid you not about the pants dropping of my butt…Yesterday I had to run down the stairs in a hurry to bring hubby a much needed item and when I was downstairs I should’ve pulled my pants up because when I accidently hurt my arm on the doorknob and started jumping up and down from the excruciating pain…I gave hubby the wonderful experience of seeing my pants drop right down to the floor and they were fully buttoned and zipped up…Do I need more prove that I am losing weight?

Furthermore I am wearing shirts this week I haven’t worn in years or always worn with either a jacket or another shirt (much wider shirt) over it. There are hardly any lumps on my sides or that hideous pouch in the front. We have a full-length mirror in our hallway, right next to the toilet where I spent a lot of time because of the gallons of water I drink all day, and I can’t stop looking in surprise at my image. I turn front and side and wonder: where are the bulges and lumps…They are too, like my butt, shrinking away and I don’t care that the scale says I’m behind on schedule for my goal weight…The image of my self in the mirror, the falling pants and the fact that I can wear tights shirts for the first time in years without feeling embarrassed or uncomfortable is more of a reward to me that those stupid numbers on a scale.

I know some of my #twitloss buddies have the everlasting battle with the scale too and my post this week hopefully will help let that go and focus on other stuff so it doesn’t become an obsession. I have since this week and it’s a big relief.

Hugs,
Pearl

UP and DOWN

Starting Weight: 192 lbs

Goal Weight: 132 lbs

Last Time’s Weight: 178 lbs

This Time’s Weight: 175 lbs

This Time’s Loss: 3 lbs

Total Loss: 17 lbs

This Week’s Hours of Zumba: 1.5

Last Week’s Hours of Zumba: 2.0

Total Hours of Zumba: 6

So last week there was no post for me because I was sick. This week I had my weigh-in yesterday morning and I “only” lost 3 lbs. It may seem cruel to say ONLY 3 lbs but considering the fact that I am on a 0-calories diet you’d expect more than 3 lbs every two weeks. Unfortunately the fact that I was born as a woman once again coupled up with my water retaining powers and decided that once a month I don’t see the result of the sacrifices I am making to lose weight. However every lbs is one so I shouldn’t sound so ungrateful. I know some of you are having a much harder time...

As the title states: sometimes you go up…sometimes you go down. And I’ll have to get used to the fact that 1 weighing per month will have less wonderful results than the other. The past week was also hard in the not eating department: I really almost caved when I was feeling sick…if it wasn’t for my wonderful hubby who took good care of me and kept me motivated and held me back when I was ready to ransack the cupboards looking for something to eat, I would have. So I am dedicating this week’s weight loss to him.

On a different and more positive note...the loss of 17 lbs is apparently starting to show because today I was told that even my boobs look smaller....I don't know how much of that is true or more of a "in the eye of the beholder" thing, but I am noticing my clothes are getting looser...so loose that my tracksuit pants fell of my hiney this evening as I was running up the stairs to rush to the toilet (the water drinking is still making me run to the toilet every 30 minutes...).

And that's what I want you to keep in mind: Even if the scale doesn't show the lower figures, watch your clothes because sometimes even if the scale doesn't indicate it, you are loosing fat and that's much more important than some numbers on that electronic device that is the bane of our existence.

Hugs,
Pearl

The only way is up...or in our case DOWN

Starting Weight: 192 lbs

Goal Weight: 132 lbs

Last Time’s Weight: 186 lbs

This Time’s Weight: 178 lbs

This Time’s Loss: 6 lbs

Total Loss: 12 lbs

This Week’s Hours of Zumba: 2,0

Last Week’s Hours of Zumba: 0.0

Total Hours of Zumba: 4.5

This week’s post is a late and very brief one as I was occupied all day today with a road trip up north and due to failed planning I didn’t write my weekly post before I left on the trip.
As you can see in the numbers above this two-week period was a very good one, despite half the wrap I ate last week. I lost 6 lbs in these two weeks and that is a big motivation to keep up with the strict 0-calories diet. People in my environment still frown upon what I am doing.

“Why aren’t you eating?”
“Isn’t this a bit drastic?”
“What you are doing can’t be healthy, you should eat.”

Despite these questions and remarks regularly thrown at me, I know that this is something that is finally working for me. By the next weighing appointment with the acupuncturist I will be below 176 lbs and that is a weight I haven’t had in three years, despite diets, trying to eat less, trying to eat healthier, despite anything I have tried these past three years. And that alone motivates me.

Besides the motivation, I feel more energized than I’ve felt in many, many years and I know that once I reach my goal weight and I can go off the 0-calories I will NEVER again eat like I ate before. I do not need all the food, especially the junk, I used to eat to feel satisfied.

I am now going to crash into my bed for another busy day tomorrow and wish all my #twitloss buddies a week next week like the one I had this week!

Hugs,
Pearl

The Little Engine that Could

That's me. The little engine that could. I mean this is week four and up until today I have had nothing to report except challenges and failure. Well that all ends now! Woot! Woot! I lost 2lbs!

Okay, I know. It's not much, but hey we gotta celebrate all the victories. Even the little ones. I am happy to say that despite my utter failure at working out everyday over the weekend, I managed to not kill myself with overeating and got in 3 days of exercise leading to my loss.

I was so excited Monday (that was when I weighed in) that I came home and did 43 minutes of Tae Bo. Needless to say, I am a little sore today so Wednesday will be my next workout day.

I have learned a few things this week:

1. I suck at grammar. I am taking a self editing workshop and I couldn't tell a dangling participle from anything else that dangles. I am speaking grammatically. Get your filthy minds out of the gutters.

2. I do not like plain cottage cheese. Sadly this one of those bought it at Costco kinds of lessons. On the up side I have gotten a few interesting suggestions and ideas for recipes. I have one for a quiche I will try and if it comes out good I will post it next week. Promise!

3. Hard work and discipline pays off. Okay. I knew that, but it just never translates to weight loss for me. This week I feel like there is a direct connection. Let's hope the trend continues as I embark on the next week.

I have to say that having such an awesome group of supporters is actually helping take the sting out of the experience. It is really nice to know that for once it is not me forging ahead alone. Virtual group hug! *squeeze*

Now, I want to know...got any good cottage cheese recipes? If not got any other good diet recipes that are helping you get through this experience?

Hump Day!

Well, it's hump day! That means we are half way through the work week and half way through our first week of Twitloss. First, thank you to everyone who has come out here and on Twitter to follow, gripe, groan, praise, and bottom line support us and each other!

Two days in to this challenge I have to shout it out: LOOSING WEIGHT SUCKS! Let me say that while I wouldn't consider myself spoiled, I have never been big on self denial either. It goes against the grain for me. I have always hung out with people I like, worn what I like, gone where I liked to go. You're seeing the pattern here, right? So naturally, I have always eaten what I like. And up until about 10 years ago that did not matter. Suddenly...or not so suddenly it mattered.

Discipline. (Get your mind out of the gutter!) Discipline has also never been my strong suit. I was a dancer for years, and that brings a certain level of discipline because of the nature of the art. But since i loved it and wanted to be good at it, it never felt like work. I loved being a dancer. I loved long days of class and then rehearsal. I really loved performing. I loved my metabolism. I could eat most anything and not gain weight. Sigh. Those were the days!

Needless to say, you can see now how dieting...even a healthy lifestyle change....might be difficult for me. Tuesday provided a painfully clear reminder of what I lack. Discipline. So, here is the scenario:

It is about 10:30am and I hit the office kitchen for a coffee (decaf) refill and my mid morning snack of 1% cottage cheese and an apple. Tres healthy. I cross the threshold transitioning from industrial grade carpet to the white linoleum floor in the small kitchen. Tap. Tap. I stop dead. There on the counter teasing me...tormenting me is a ruthless, soul-sucking, fat laden box of Girl Scout cookies. Do-si-do's to be exact. I take a breath, I can do this. Be strong. I encourage myself. I set my coffee mug down and pull out my healthy snack. I set it down and literally without thinking I open the cookies and eat one. Just like that. No thought, just action. I ate it. Crap. Clearly this is going to be much harder than I had hoped.

So there it is. My biggest challenge in this effort is not the working out...okay that's another issue for another day...but discipline. Discipline and Girl Scout cookie season. Discipline and whatever excuse I can dream up, and let's face it as an aspiring writer I think I am pretty creative. :) The next question is, what am I going to do about it? I don't know yet, honestly. I am going to start by taking this thing one day at a time and hoping I can baby step it to my goal weight.

If you are working toward weight loss right now, what is your biggest challenge? How are you dealing with it?