Annual Physical

Yesterday, I went to the doctor for my annual physical.  She and her nurses were amazed when they entered in my weight.  "You're 50 pounds lighter than last year", they said.  It felt good.  Tonight while I was working at the library, a little girl, who comes in with her mom asked me if I was smaller and had lost weight. I told her yes, that I had lost almost as much as she weighs.  Both of those conversations felt pretty good.  Now to get down to business and get the other 50 off.  I will be interested to see what my test numbers look like and if I can make changes in my medications. 

Last night, I went to a Zumba class here at the university. One of the students that I work with in HPER teaches it.  I was definitely the oldest one there, but I can keep up for the most part.  The problem is I can't dance well and my hips don't move like theirs do.  Oh well, at least it is movement.

I haven't gone back to the induction phase with Atkin's, but I believe that I need to do that to get things going again.  I was noticing today that clothes that haven't fit me for years are now starting to get a little baggy.   A good sign!

A friend of mine wants to do the Nitty Gritty Dirt Dash.  It is on April 12th at Camp Alexander. That is prom, but if I go early enough, I should be okay.  It might be fun.  If I do that, I need to start doing more exercise and get in better shape. 

Dr. Appointment Tomorrow for my Annual Physical

Tomorrow is my annual physical appointment with my doctor.  I will be interested in seeing what my blood work looks like and her response to where I am right now.  I also want to ask her about long term plans.  My total weight loss at this point is about 50 pounds, give or take a pound.  This is about halfway where I want to be ultimately.  People have said to break it down in smaller segments.  So my next small goal is to be 10 pounds lighter when the semester is over.  Since I have been plateaued since November, I am going to return to the Atkins Induction Phase for at least 2 weeks to see if that will jump start more weight loss.  I need to have a renewed commitment to exercise.  One step in that direction is joining the Healthy Hornets program at work.  With this promotion, I need to do weight training exercise for 30 minutes 3 times a week and Cardio exercise for 30 minutes 3 times a week.  The weather is also getting nicer, so I can go outside and exercise again, which is what I prefer.

The other day I started reading another book, New Atkins for a New You.  This book lays out the Atkins plan moving from induction to pre maintenance to maintenance.  I think that I can follow this to see what results I get from moving back to being more restrictive in what I eat.   http://www.amazon.com/New-Atkins-You-Ultimate-Shedding/dp/1439190275/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1392677561&sr=1-2&keywords=dr.+atkins+new+diet+revolution

One thing with getting healthier is that I have been trying more vegetables in different ways.  The other night I made a recipe called Low Carb Crackslaw.  It really isn't coleslaw, but a version of hamburger mixed with a coleslaw salad mix that is cooked.  It is similar to the filling that would be in a Runza or Bierock.  It was really good. 

This is the recipe that I used:

Recipe: Classic Crackslaw

Summary: The classic recipe, blending ground beef with cabbage, ginger, soy sauce and other low carb ingredients. This is super-addictive and oh so tasty.

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon white sugar or sweetener
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger paste
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 3 sliced green onions
• 14 oz coleslaw mix (or shredded white cabbage)
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
• Salt and black pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Brown the ground beef in a skillet and season it with salt and pepper to taste.
2. Remove the beef from the pan and set aside. Drain off the fat if you wish.
3. Heat up the sesame oil and sauté the garlic, onions and coleslaw mix or cabbage in there until the cabbage is cooked to the desired tenderness.
4. Stir in the hot sauce, soy sauce, sugar or sweetener, vinegar and ginger.
5. Add the ground beef back in and mix well to combine.
6. Serve with hot sauce on the table for people who like it extra spicy.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s)
Cooking time: 15 minute(s)

Rebooting for the New Year - Getting off that plateau

Yesterday I decided that I needed to reboot for the new year and start over.  So I moved back to the induction phase again to see if I can get off this plateau.  The good news is that I maintained through the stress and eating of the holidays.  But I have been stuck in this same place for about a month.  When I started this journey I weighed about 272 pounds.  This is probably the first time I have publicly announced what I weigh. Since I carry weight well on my body, I have a feeling that no one would believe that I began at that point.  For the past couple of months, I have been stuck at 229-232 pounds.  That is a weight loss of over 40 pounds, but I still have about 70 more to go.  I am fitting into clothes that I haven't worn for a while. 

But, I need to do something drastic to get moving again.  I am going to try the induction phase for a couple of weeks to see if that works.  If not, then I will try something different.  I have decided that I have made this commitment and I plan to see it through.  Exercise is the other area where I can beef things up.  Since the weather has turned colder, I have not been as consistent as in the nicer weather.  But this week, I have tried harder.  Monday and Wednesday found me back at the yoga class, which involves stretching and moving.  Tuesday night, I did some strength exercises with weights and resistance bands at home.  This morning, I managed to drag my butt out of bed to work out on the elliptical trainer for 30 minutes.  Later today, I want to do some core stuff.

So keep tuned!   

New Year's Day and Resolutions

Today is the start of a brand new year, 2014.  Last year I reached a personal milestone when I celebrated my 50th birthday.  This year, I plan to focus on me on several fronts.  This doesn't mean that I plan to be totally self centered and not think about others before myself, but I do need to focus on several things. 

• Eating!  This is where I need to continue to focus and think about myself.  I watched half of Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead today.  It helped to reinforce what I have been reading about carbohydrates, meat (especially beef), and the benefits of eating wholesome and healthy foods.  My resolution is to concentrate on getting 7-8 vegetables and fruits a day, focusing my diet more on those foods instead of meat.  I plan to continue to limit carbs, except for those found in whole foods such as fruits.
• Exercise: This is another area that I need to continue to focus upon and make time to work out.  To achieve this goal, I plan to sign up for a personal trainer, once school begins.  This will help me to remain accountable.  I can get up earlier in the morning to work out and find ways to add active movement to my day, such as walking to work, taking stairs more often, and standing instead of sitting.  I plan to change up my workouts and try different things.  To help with this, I bought a bike trainer to ride my bike inside during the winter months.
• PhD Research: Finally, I plan to set aside 2 hours every day to work on my research so that I can get my first three chapters written and present my proposal in the spring.  I need to make time to get my research accomplished.  
• Weightloss: I would like to accomplish my goal of losing at least 100 pounds by the end of 2014.  At this point I have lost over 40 pounds.  I maintained through the holidays and now can focus on it again.  I still have over 60 pounds to go.  Personally I would like to get to a weight between 160 and 170.  I think to do this, I can try different things with my eating plan.  I would like to move towards vegetarianism.  But with eating right and exercise, I should be successful.

Today, I ate a few more carbs because I made another batch of aebleskiver.  I enjoyed them, knowing that I won't have them again for a while.  Having time off from work has been nice because I can exercise when I want and for the amount of time that I want.  That changes tomorrow when I go back to work, except for the weekends.  I worked out this afternoon with 20 minutes on the elliptical trainer and then a 20 minute walk to the video store.  I came home and did a 20 minute resistant band workout and then day 2 of the abs challenge.  With this, I continue to move forward!