Long time

Hi ladies. WOW - it's been a long time. I got really off track and had a hard time getting back on. I ate awful when Bob's mom was in the hospital because there weren't a lot of healthy options, and frankly, I didn't care much in the moment. (Praise the Lord - she is home now and we can't notice any brain damage! This is a miracle! Thank you for your prayers!) Then last week, I started my new job and this perpetuated the bad habits (eating too much and not exercising) because I wanted to eat out with my new coworkers and make friends and I was too exhausted at night to work out because I'm not used to getting up early in the morning. I'm starting to adjust - kind of. Clearly not getting enough sleep still though since I have to be up in less than 6 hours. I'll need to get a better handle on this, or I'll run myself into the ground. I just had to take a few minutes and write though. Do you ever have a mental block with something? Like you put it off and put it off and then it seems harder and harder to do? And so you wait, and it gets even harder? That's where I got with this blog. Bob encouraged me to get back on the wagon though and ask for encouragement. I'm floundering a bit. I did work out this evening with Bob while watching some TV. It was my idea and he at first was not into it. After watching me step on and off of a chair for a bit though, he got motivated and we did it together. It was pretty fun. I haven't gained too much through all of this, but it's really an opportunity cost. I could have lost 6 lbs in the last 3 weeks, but instead I've gained 1. I suppose minor setbacks are ok. We're coming to crunch time though soon - and I really can't afford to waste weeks. Ok, I'll keep you posted ladies. Thanks for being here - it REALLY does help to spur me on.

Tragedy Strikes

Hi ladies. My energy is so drained, but I wanted to hop on for a quick post. Bob's mom had a brain anuerysm on Friday night. We were in the hospital all night and most of Saturday. She made it through surgery and is up talking a bit today but for the next 3 weeks, she's at risk for vaso spasms (stroke) and could die or suffer brain damage. She was totally healthy and this came as a total shock to us. I am physically and emotionally drained but have been trying to do anything I can to support Bob. We are a good team and have really pulled together during this tough time. If you're a praying person, her name (yes - actually her real name!) is Kay. We have been lifting her up in prayer and know that the Lord's hand is on her. I have the next two weeks off before I start a new job and so I'll be spending a lot of time in the hospital with her. I'm so glad that I'm available to go.

As far as food goes, I ate crap all weekend. In the midst of tragedy, eating within my restricted calorie allotment doesn't seem so important. It is there in the back of my mind, that I don't want to shoot all of my progress though. I haven't weighed in since Thursday and am sure it's not good - unless being incredibly stressed also burns tons of calories. I'm hoping to get back on track this week, but am not sure when I'll be at the mercy of the hospital cafeteria for my lunches. Maybe I could buy food and take lunches there. Too late for tomorrow, but maybe the next day? Ok, I need sleep very badly. Goodnight all.

Question for you

Hi ladies! Ok, so I was really excited yesterday to drop below the 170 mark, but today it says I gained a pound and a half. I'm up to 171.3! I was pretty good on my calories and even worked out late last night. There are two possible reasons for this: 1. The nutrition information for Buffalo Wild Wings on The Daily Plate is WAY off and the Honey BBQ Boneless Wings are more than the said 500 calories. or 2. Being on my period is affecting my weight. Since this is the first month that I'm really tracking all of this diligently, I'm not sure if that time of the month will do that to you. Could that just be retained water??? Let me know what you think!!

Oh, another thing - I told Bob about this blog and how much it's helping me push on in this journey. He's really pumped that it's working for me and he asked me the address so he can look at it. I tell him everything - he's my best friend...but I really like having this one thing that I KNOW is totally anonymous. I told him that that aspect really helped and that it was nice to have a place to gush about him as well that I know he wouldn't read. He said he respected that and let it lie. I think it's cute though that he wanted so badly to read what I write on here.

Current Weight: 171.3

Broke into the 160s!!!!!

So I've been waiting with anticipation for the day that I jumped on the scale and broke beneath the 170 line. That day was today!! 169.8!! And I can REALLY see differences in my body. I have this stomach roll that's always been there and it's been going down little by little, and today I noticed a huge difference! I can't wait until it's 100% gone - I can't even imagine. Bob is telling me that it WILL happen and that I'll be able to wear a bikini on our honeymoon. That's fun to think about. I don't think I've EVER had a bikini on! Bob has been in the 340's and on this same morning told me that he reached 339.8! It's fun to be working on this together and hitting new lows at the same time even. I'm really proud of him and his hard work.

Oh - big news here - WEDDING DEADLINE.....shortened!!! Bob had originally told me that the engagement was 5-6 months down the road (and then the wedding is another 6 months out from there). We started looking at houses though. He decided that he doesn't want to move forward with house hunting though until we're engaged - more logical flow. He also realized though that he really DOES want to marry me and DOES want to find a place that will be ours. So he's prayed about it, and is now thinking 2-3 months. This is AWESOME because he is the most wonderful man, I love him SO much, and I want so badly to be his wife and wake up next to him in the morning :) The only down side to this - less time to lose weight!! I'm not sweating this though. I already figured out that I could have it gone in July if I lose 2 lbs a week. I am on track and pacing well for this.

Bob has wanted to do a colon cleanse/detox thing for a really long time. Anyone heard of this before or tried it? We're doing the Colinix and Toxinout products together. I thought it was a good idea but we didn't have the money to drop down on it (the total came to $646 for both of us to do the 3 month program). I have the money to do it though now and so we ordered it tonight. He was so excited and I actually am too! I'm a little scared about what it'll do to my body in the process of getting all of the junk out, but it can only help this weight loss process. When my body is cleaned out, I should be able to metabolize foods much better and for all I know, I could have 10 lbs of toxins being stored in my fat. I can't wait to see what kind of results I see from this!!

Current Weight: 169.8

Back in the Saddle

Hi ladies! Thanks so much for your encouragement after my last post. I was pretty discouraged when I stepped on the scale Monday morning and saw that I GAINED 2 lbs over the weekend. Considering that I only lost 1.5 lbs last week, that means a net gain. But Tiffany was right - I was retaining water from all of the eating out - this was NOT fat that I had gained. Water...that's ok. I ate well yesterday (despite meeting a girlfriend for dinner at Olive Garden) and when I got back on the scale this morning, I was actually BELOW what I was at before the weekend! I weighed in at 170.6. On top of that, I woke up to a voice mail message from Bob that he had reached a new low! He's taken my lead and started restricting his calories. He hasn't started working out yet, but it's awesome that he's watching what he's eating. I feel like we're in this together now! Tonight, I jumped on my Wii Fit and did the stepper for a half hour while watching HGTV :) I called Bob and said goodnight to him and then actually got BACK on it! I did a total of 1 hr 15 mins tonight! Considering that I was under my allotted calories and I got in a great workout, I can't wait to wake up tomorrow and weigh in!!

Monday weight: 172.9
Tuesday weight: 170.6 *new low*

Good food, bad self control

Hi ladies! I'm a night owl so I decided to post about my weekend. Bob and I went to visit my sister in college Friday night and then went to see my mom Saturday night. We ate out a TON! I started out good on Friday night and got a low cal option from Chili's. Saturday afternoon wasn't bad either - Jimmy John's sandwich (about 550 cals). Saturday night is where it started to go terribly wrong. Bob and I went out to a Chinese buffet with my mom and grandma. The food was so good and I just ate whatever I wanted (which was fried food - and a lot of it). I overate and was SO full. Sometimes when I'm eating, I know that I'm full but enjoy the food so much that I just can't stop myself. That's not helpful. It only gets worse...we went to the same Chinese buffet again for lunch today (Sunday). I did better than Sat night (no ice cream and a little less food) but not great. I told myself that I'd just eat soup tonight and do my Wii and make up for it. What I didn't realize was that Bob and I were doing dinner with three other people that night. We went to a Greek restaurant. It was SO good. I held back some (no wine), but not enough - I ate Saganaki (with bread of course), Spanakopita (spinach pie), rice, potato, AND a few bites of Bakliva and chocolate cake. To make all of this worse - I got home and had no motivation at all to get on my Wii Fit. Bob and I started house shopping and I sat on my couch for hours looking at homes online.

Pretty sure I lost any progress I made last week and may have even GAINED weight. I guess we'll find out in the morning when I hop on to be weighed. Alright, I need to remember that it's a new week and that I can get back on track!

Oh - the one good thing to report though is that my family all told me that I looked great! They could totally see the difference already and that felt great!

Down down

Hi ladies! I know I haven't posted in a couple of days, but I have good things to report! The weight has been going down, down this week! I have made my workouts a little longer (around an hour vs. a half hour) and have also been very selective about what I'll eat. Here's a weigh in...

Monday 172.6
Tuesday 172.0
Wednesday 170.9
Thursday 170.9

I cannot EVER remember seeing the number 170 in my adult life! This is REALLY happening! I truly believe that I can do this! My entire frame has gotten smaller. I went shopping yesterday with a friend and was amazed! I just accepted a new job, and so I bought some clothes to celebrate! I was so pleased that everything looked so good on me! I had a little fashion show for Bob and he was so impressed!

My big thing now is motivating HIM! He needs to lose way more weight than me. I half started this to look great for my wedding, and half to motivate him. I'd like him around a long long time, and he said that if he doesn't shed the weight, it won't happen. I think he's at 343 right now (6'1"). He wants it, but I don't see him counting the calories, and doing the workouts. He has lost 3 lbs over the last couple of weeks, but I know that he could shed so much more if he gave it his all. The new job I'm taking is right down the street from his office and the gym I go to has a location in that town. I think he's going to get a membership and we can start going after work together. That should be good for both of us! Any tips on how to motivate your husband/boyfriend??